Aug. 12--A 20-year-old Norfolk man has been charged with robbing a Virginia Beach bank via the drive-through window.

The man allegedly sent a note through the vacuum tube that said he had a gun.

James Robert Crowder was arrested Sunday in a Richmond hotel after numerous Crime Solvers tips after surveillance photo sat the drive-through were broadcast over Hampton Roads TV stations, Virginia Beach police spokesman Adam Bernstein said.

"Sometimes it helps us if the criminals aren't too smart," Bernstein said.

The robbery occurred Saturday at 11:33 a.m. when a man in a white Lexus sedan drove up to the drive-through window of a Gateway Bank on Independence Boulevard. He passed a note to a bank teller that demanded money and stated that he had a gun.

The man did not display a gun. The Lexus was stolen from Hampton, Bernstein said.

The bank teller sent an undisclosed amount of cash through the tube, Bernstein said.

Although the drive-through window was made of bullet-resistant glass, the teller was following bank procedures designed to discourage robbers in such cases from trying to enter the bank, Bernstein said.

Bernstein said he had never heard of a drive-through bank robbery before, but Richmond-area residents may recall a series of five such robberies committed by a young woman in 2003.

The woman employed the same mode of operation as the Virginia Beach bank robber.

She was caught after employees of the last bank got a good look at her and her vehicle, authorities said.

She was convicted of three counts of robbery and five counts of grand larceny and was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Crowder was being held yesterday without bond in the Virginia Beach jail, pending a court appearance. Contact Bill Geroux at (757) 498-2820 or bgeroux@timesdispatch.com.

-----

To see more of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesdispatch.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

NASDAQ-NMS:GBTS,

Story Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch