MANHATTAN — A serial bank robber, who has netted more than $13,000 from 11 banks since February, was arrested Wednesday after he botched a job at a Greenwich Village Capital One bank, police said.
James Walton, 40, who was released from prison in January after doing three years behind bars for robbery, passed a demand note to a teller inside 21 University Place, near East Eighth Street, about 11 a.m., but the teller refused and he fled the scene only to be arrested 17 blocks north at East 25th Street and Park Avenue South, an NYPD spokesman said.
The ex-con has spent the past 11 years in and out of prison. Walton was behind bars from April 2003 to May 2010 on a robbery charge, prison records show. After his release, he went right back to work robbing banks until he was caught April 2011, records show.
He was arrested Wednesday on charges of robbery and attempted robbery for his most recent spree in which he hit 11 banks, at least seven of which were in Manhattan, since February, police said. His first seven jobs netted him $13,832 with individual pulls ranging from $250 up to $8,150, police said.
Police didn't say how much money he got from the other four robberies.
Despite Walton's success rate, this isn't his first botched job. In 2010, he walked into a Chase at 260 Columbus Ave., about 5 p.m. on Dec. 28 and again passed a demand note to the teller who also refused him.
He was still awaiting arraignment for his latest spree Thursday afternoon.
