Hour after jail release, man robs bank across from police station, Missouri cops say

Fifty minutes after Karsten Hardeman was released from jail, police say he went to a bank across from the police station and demanded money, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The tellers at Financial Credit Union in Wentzville, Missouri, gave him the money, police said, and the suspect ran away, KMOV reported. That was at about 5 p.m. Jan. 2.

When Wentzville Police received a call about the robbery, one of the officers began walking to the credit union across the street, according to KSDK.

But before he got across the street, the officer noticed a man sitting on the curb just outside the police station, the Post-Dispatch reported. The man matched the description of the robber.

The officer commanded the man — now identified as 20-year-old Hardeman — to raise his hands so police could see them, KSDK reported.

Hardeman followed those instructions, and “several” $100 bills started falling from his sweatshirt, according to KMOV. He was arrested on suspicion of robbing the bank and booked into jail — again.

Hardeman, of Dayton, Ohio, is now being held at the St. Charles County jail on a $100,000 bail, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Police said he’s also a bank robbery suspect in Kansas and Texas, KSDK reported. The FBI is assisting with that investigation.

The man was originally in jail at the Wentzville police station on suspicion of a misdemeanor drug violation after his vehicle was towed by a different local agency, KMOV reported.

This story was originally published January 8, 2019 at 10:10 AM.