POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — A man believed to be on the run from a Pompano Beach bank heist attracted a lot of attention this morning when a red dye pack burst in his pants while he was in a Fort Lauderdale pawn shop, police said.
"They looked at him and there was a powdery substance — an explosion coming from the suspect's shorts," said Detective Kathy Collins, a police spokeswoman.
The man, whose description is identical to the robber authorities say made off with a bag of money from a Washington Mutual bank, ran out of Cash America Pawn about 10:15 a.m. and left his dye-stained white T-shirt at the side of the building, said Collins.
He is still on the run.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said a 6-foot-3 man with a heavy build and a goatee walked into the bank at 9:10 a.m. at 101 S. Pompano Parkway, demanded money and fled on foot with the cash, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Alesia Russell.
A dye pack, a device that is triggered to stain stolen money and potential robbers, was buried in the loot, said police.
The suspect was described as wearing a white knit cap, a white T-shirt and pants.
About an hour later, police said a man matching the description of the bank robber walked into Cash America Pawn at 1010 W. Sunrise Blvd.
Employee Conrad Masters, 25, of Plantation, noticed the man linger in the store, not paying attention to any particular items.
"He had a suspicious look when he came in," Masters said.
Two minutes later, the dye pack went off in the right pocket of the man's dark trousers.
"There was a puff of smoke coming out," Masters said.
The man turned to walk away and when Masters tried to approach, the man ran out of the store, ditching a wad of cash with the exploded dye pack inside.
Masters said there were two other people in the business at the time.
No one was injured, although some Mace mixed in with the red dye stung people's eyes, Collins said.
Tina Tieken, who works at Xpedx Paper and Graphics next door, said pawn shop employees came into her store to call police.
"Everybody's eyes were burning," Tieken said.
