Bad prank to try at bank
Woman's April Fools joke leads to arrest
What was supposed to be an April Fools' Day prank turned into a disorderly conduct charge for a 57-year-old Onamia woman Saturday.
About 10:15 a.m. Saturday, the woman stopped at Wells Fargo Bank at 424 W. Washington St. in Brainerd to make a legitimate withdrawal from an account. When she was finished, she handed the teller a note that read, "I'm here to take money," said Brainerd Police Chief John Bolduc.
Though the woman and another witness stated the note was only an April Fools' Day prank, Bolduc said a bank employee called 911 indicating the bank was being robbed.
Officers from Brainerd and Crow Wing County responded to the bank but the woman had left, Bolduc said. She was stopped by a Crow Wing County sheriff's deputy a short time later at Highways 18 and 25 in east Brainerd, where she was arrested for disorderly conduct and taken to the Crow Wing County jail.
"She was very remorseful, explained it was just a joke and that she was very sorry," Bolduc said. "(The joke) was not a very good idea. Her behavior caused alarm in other people and that's one of the elements of the crime of disorderly conduct."
MATT ERICKSON can be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.