Published: November 25, 2009 12:50 am      

NIAGARA FALLS: Bank robbery suspect caught red handed — literally

NIAGARA FALLS — An out-of-town bank robber didn’t get far on Tuesday after trying to make his getaway in a car filled with smoke from an exploding dye pack, police said.

Falls cops said the getaway was also apparently complicated by the would-be robber not knowing his way around the Cataract City.

“He was lost and couldn’t figure out how to get back to Buffalo,” Falls Police Detective Capt. Ernest Palmer said. “So he was apparently driving around the South End before he found his way onto the (Robert Moses) Parkway.”

Once the suspect was on the parkway, Palmer said New York State Park Police quickly caught up with David Anderson. After pulling Anderson over, the suspect bolted from his car and led Park and Falls police on a chase around the water intakes before finally being taken into custody.

“It was just great work by the (Park Police) Sgt. (John) Mikula,” Palmer said. “He was chasing (Anderson) and realized he might get back to his car and got between him and the vehicle until one of our guys was able to get there to help out.”

Anderson, 32, 78 Keystone St., Buffalo, was charged with third-degree robbery. He is expected to be arraigned in Falls City Court later today.

Detectives said Anderson entered the M&T Bank branch in the 700 block of Main Street just after noon Tuesday and handed a note to a teller.

“The note said, ‘Give me all the money or I’ll shoot,’ ” Palmer said.

The detective chief said Anderson did not display a weapon and fled from the bank after the teller gave him a bundle of $50 and $20 dollar bills and a two red dye packs.

“Just prior to (Anderson) getting in Chevrolet Lumina with a magnetic ribbon on the back, a witness told us he saw the dye packs explode in (Anderson’s) hands,” Palmer said. “(Anderson) got in and the vehicle filled with smoke. The witness said he couldn’t believe (Anderson) was driving it.”

As he sped away from the bank, Anderson became lost and began weave his way through the South End. Police said he went south on Main Street toward Third Street, before witnesses lost sight of him.

A few minutes later, Mikula called out that he had Anderson’s vehicle stopped on the eastbound lane of the Moses Parkway at the water intakes. After Anderson’s capture, cops said they recovered the stolen cash inside his car.

“His hands were covered in red dye, the steering wheel was covered in dye,” Palmer said, “and there was all this money in there covered in red dye.”

Detectives said Anderson was identified by witnesses as the hold-up man and later confessed to the crime.