Police don't believe man's tales about bag of stolen cash

When the police showed up he was holding a black bag full of stolen money.

First he said somebody handed him the bag and ran off. Then he said he saw someone drop the bag on a street corner and run.

On Thursday, Pierce County prosecutors filed charges against the 39-year-old man, who’s accused of committing a takeover-style robbery at a South End Tacoma bank branch Wednesday.

Robert Revels III was arraigned on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Charging documents gave this account:

The holdup at the U.S. Bank at 870 S. 38th St. occurred just before 1:25 p.m. when the masked robber entered the bank, pointed a gun at the security guard and ordered everyone to the floor.

“This is a real robbery,” the man yelled. “This is a real gun and I will use it.”

The bank manager told officers the robber pointed a gun at her as she led him into a teller area. He also yelled at the manager to hurry and threatened to take hostages.

The manager and tellers put cash into a black bag and the robber left.

Police tracked the robber to the 2600 block of East C Street and stopped Revels, whose description matched the robber. He offered his explanations for how he came to have the bag of stolen money.

Then a police dog went to a garbage can and found clothing consistent with what the robber wore and a loaded .40-caliber gun. A records check found the gun had been reported stolen.