Read this recent article (emphasis is mine):
Man in wheelchair robs bank
By Banks Albach and Jason Green, MEDIANEWS STAFF
Article Created: 04/05/2008 02:35:38 AM PDT
www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_8821898
A senior citizen in an electric wheelchair allegedly robbed a bank at Stanford Shopping Center on Thursday afternoon and managed to motor his way to freedom, authorities reported.
Police described the suspect as a white male, 65 to 70 years old, with gray hair and a beard. He was last seen about 4:25 p.m. wheeling toward El Camino Real in a wheelchair, one of his legs in a cast, said Agent Dan Ryan of the Palo Alto Police Department. Both of the suspect's legs were wrapped in some type of bandage or gauze.
The suspect entered a Wachovia Bank at the shopping center and allegedly pointed a black handgun at a teller and demanded money, Ryan said. The hood of the man's sweat shirt was pulled over his head during the incident.
"It sounds unusual because it's certainly not the fastest getaway in town," Ryan said.
Police did not disclose how much money the suspect absconded with but it appeared as though he needed the wheelchair, Ryan said. The device was large, bulky and probably required some type of hydraulic aid to lift.
Roughly 10 minutes before the heist, a man in a wheelchair, presumably the bank robbery suspect, entered a nearby Sharper Image and asked for a shopping bag, a request perplexed store employees fulfilled, Ryan said.
Clerks then watched the man get into a white service van with red lettering, which Ryan said may have belonged to a paratransit service.
"We're not sure the person who was driving the van was aware of what this guy was doing," he said.
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