According to the police, a man in Florida was seen buying a face mask at a gas station and then proceeded to break into a bank across the street.
On June 15, Colton Vanhonhenstein (33) attempted to rob a bank while wearing a face mask but was unsuccessful, according to Martin County’s Sheriff’s Office. According to the police, the male was recorded on surveillance footage purchasing the mask. He then walked across the street to a Wells Fargo bank.
Authorities stated that in the aftermath, Vanhonhenstien proceeded to the bank across the road, which had been closed, but the doors were unlocked, and he started searching through different drawers and cabinets. He quickly left since each one was empty.
After seeing a person in a mask enter the bank and hearing the alarm go off, deputies were alerted via the surveillance system that a robbery was underway. The burglar was wearing a mask, and the alarm system alerted the authorities to that fact, according to the police.
Despite the sheriff’s deputies surrounding the bank, they reported that no one appeared inside. According to authorities, the alarm provider eventually acknowledged that the system had a delay, which meant that the sheriff’s office was not notified for at least an hour.
Later on, Vanhonhenstein was detained using surveillance film. According to authorities, he was only carrying the $5 mask when he was arrested and charged with burglary.
Deputies are still attempting to find out why the door to the bank was left open and why the alarm system reported an ‘in-progress’ burglary that occurred at a bank that was closed an hour earlier. Both of these issues are still being investigated. The alarm company, on the other hand, subsequently acknowledged that they waited a minimum of one hour before alerting the sheriff’s office, as stated by the officers.
