This week, St. Louis County police charged a Fenton woman who allegedly walked into a smoke shop with a knife, asked for cash -- and then settled on a measly $7.50 in tip jar coins. Not really worth all the trouble, if you ask us. But the bizarre incident got us thinking about the craziest bandits in the area -- the ones who wear costumes, the ones who do a really bad job and the ones who just won't give up until they're caught.
From Spider-Man to the Granddad Bandit, the stories in Daily RFT's crime archive offer a large supply of strange bandits, and we've assembled below the top ten weirdest ones from recent years.
Apparently only one of Amy Zielinski's three robbery attempts on December 1, 2012 actually succeeded -- with the help of a "handgun" pressuring BP Amoco employees in Madison County to hand over cash.
Her other robberies later that day, however, weren't as smooth -- and once she was caught, police secured her weapon of choice in her car: a toy handgun.
Or as we thought he should perhaps be renamed once we saw his mugshot at the time, "The Guy Who Stares Into Your Soul Until You Hand Over the Money" Bandit. Has a certain ring to it, no?
St. Louis County Police arrested Byron Gullion, 35, after a string of thefts. He got the "logo bandit" name after he allegedly was robbing places while wearing clothes with logos, making him standout from the regular ole' ski-mask-over-face kind of bandits law enforcement usually encounters.
Continue for more Missouri bandits.
