Bad guys who can't get it right

There seems to be no end of stupid criminal stories--real ones. We've heard about the burglar-to-be who got stuck in an air vent at his intended target and had to be extricated by firemen, or the carjacker who found he didn't know how to shift the gears of the car he intended to make off with.

Another to be added to these misadventures appeared in the Baltimore Sun today. A guy went to a Baltimore bank, gave a handwritten note to a teller announcing a holdup, and took off with his loot ($526). However, there was one little flaw in his plan: he wrote the note on the back of a blank check from a checkbook he had gotten from that bank when he had an account there, but which had been closed six years ago. You guessed it: he left the note behind at the bank. At least, he showed customer loyalty by going back to his old bank.

He will have plenty of time to think about a better plan for his next heist--a judge gave him twelve years in prison for his little caper.