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Bank Robber Uses Bus for Getaway Vehicle

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on March 17, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Who's afraid of the big bad bus?

Come on, we all know you're out there. And we're no longer making fun of you.

Criminals do ride the bus. Actually, bank robbers use the bus. Well, at least one bank robber does.

Meet Lonnie Johnson, the man behind the headlines proclaiming that a "Bank Robber Uses Bus for Getaway."

Out on parole for a prior robbery conviction, Lonnie Johnson could no longer ignore the allure of KeyBank in downtown Dayton, Ohio. The urge was so strong that he went at it alone--no accomplices needed. Not even to drive the getaway vehicle.

For Lonnie Johnson, that was a big mistake.

Wednesday morning, Johnson popped into the Dayton bank and demanded money from a teller. After leaving, he headed to the RTA bus terminal two blocks away, explains the Dayton Daily News. Once there, he tried to blend in.

Unfortunately for him, witnesses spotted Lonnie Johnson as he boarded the bus. Once officers were informed, details the paper, they tracked down the bus and stopped it a few blocks away.

Police found evidence on Johnson linking him to crime, reports WHIOTV.

"Bank Robber Uses Bus" is a pretty hilarious story, but it comes with not-so hilarious consequences. By using the bus, Lonnie Johnson may have gotten himself into even more trouble. Buses are considered "instrumentalities of interstate commerce," which means that they're at least partially regulated by Congress. By using the bus in the commission of a crime, it's very possible that Johnson opened himself up to conviction under a host of federal crime statutes.

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