Pack of cigarettes leads to arrest of Florida man after bank robbery

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A dropped pack of cigarettes led to the arrest of a Florida man, who is accused of robbing a bank Monday, authorities said.

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David Keith Teal, 61, of St. Petersburg, is accused of robbing a Chase bank in St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay Times reported. According to an arrest affidavit, detectives with the Pinellas Park Police Department found a pack of cigarettes with Teal’s fingerprints at the bank’s exit.

Teal was charged with providing a false name to law enforcement, armed robbery, possession of paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, resisting an officer without violence, petit theft, retail theft and trespassing, according to Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.

According to the arrest affidavit, Teal entered the bank at around 9:30 a.m. EDT and handed a teller a note demanding $10,000, the Times reported.

After Teal allegedly took the money and left the bank, employees pointed police to a pack of cigarettes that Teal allegedly dropped on the floor, according to the affidavit.

Teal told police he had never been to the bank, the Times reported.

Teal was being held Friday in the Pinellas County Jail, with bail set at $56,800, according to online booking records.

A bond hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10, according to Pinellas County online court records.

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