By MONROE ROARK
Staff Writer

The search is on for a would-be bank robber who struck Wednesday morning in north Fayette County.

The Talbot State Bank at 3000 Ga. Highway 138, near the Clayton County line, was hit at about 10:45 a.m., according to Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

The perpetrator was described as a black male in his early 20s, of medium height and a slender build, wearing a blue hat, a yellow shirt with a dark collar, eyeglasses, baggy shorts below the knee, and tennis shoes.

He entered the bank and began making small talk with a teller before asking for a pen, sheriff's office reports say. He then took a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote a note instructing the teller to hand over all of the money, warning her not to give him money with enclosed dye packs or do anything foolish, Jordan said.

However, because he demanded all of the money, the teller was forced to give him the dye-marked money as well, according to reports. The robber pulled his own blue plastic bag out of his pocket and put the money in it before fleeing on foot, the sheriff's office said.

As he entered the thick brush behind the bank, the dye pack exploded, said Jordan, adding that the robber then lost his eyeglasses as he fled the scene. Authorities recovered the glasses, along with most of the money, and possibly all of it, Jordan said.

There are several good pictures of the suspect that were taken with the bank's video equipment, and still pictures could soon be available, according to Jordan.

“The bank employees did an excellent job,” said Jordan. “The photo equipment worked well. He [the robber] left us with a lot of evidence to work with.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, authorities in Clayton and Fulton counties were taking part in the investigation, and Fayette County authorities were putting together lineups for witnesses. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also responded to the incident, Jordan said.

The suspect has a tattoo on each side of his neck, with the inscription “Little Bit” or “Lil Bit,” said Jordan.

The bank first opened for business in December of last year.