Bank robber flees with no money

DOWNTOWN — Authorities are investigating an attempted robbery Friday morning at a Wells Fargo Bank on North Brand Boulevard that failed after the man, who may have been a teenager, apparently got scared and fled after passing a demand note to a teller, police said.

The robber, whom witnesses described as being a teen, entered the Wells Fargo in the 500 block of North Brand Boulevard at 10:15 a.m., approached the teller and passed a note, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

But the teller couldn’t read the note because the words were faint, so she left the booth to talk with a supervisor, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

And at one point during the robbery attempt, the man told the teller, “Give me the money.”

“He eventually got cold feet,” Eimiller said.

When the teller stepped away, the robber fled on foot, going west on California Avenue, Lorenz said.

“The male was very nervous,” he added.

No one was injured and no cash was stolen in the morning bank heist attempt, which Lorenz said police will continue to investigate and consider as a robbery.

“Unfortunately, he will have to own up to it,” Lorenz said.

Witnesses told police they didn’t see a weapon.

Wells Fargo always has extra precautions in place for incidents like the one on Friday, said bank spokeswoman Pia Hahn, although she declined to elaborate.

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The robber was described as black, clean shaven, 5 feet 8 inches tall, with short hair and a slim build, Lorenz said. Other witnesses described him as wearing a black knit cap and a zipped jacket, Eimiller said.

FBI investigators are looking into whether he may be linked to other robberies, she said.