Attentive customer helps police catch suspected bank robber

A regular customer at a west side bank played a role in helping police catch a man suspected of robbing the bank Tuesday afternoon.

Madison police said the 43-year-old customer was the drive-thru at Anchor Bank at 333 S. Westfield Road at 3:05 p.m. when he spotted a man wearing a puffy fake beard, floppy fishing style hat, sunglasses, and a poorly fitting suit walk into the bank. Police said he told the teller, who he knew, that he had a bad feeling about the man.

Seconds later, the teller mouthed the words, “Call the cops,” to the man in the drive-thru, according to a police report.

The man told police he decided to follow the suspected robber as he left the bank, keeping a safe distance, until the car he was following pulled into a driveway in the 7300 block of Tree Lane. He was on the phone with dispatchers the whole time.

Police said the man couldn’t pinpoint where the suspect had gone, but a police dog also tracked the suspect to the same area.

The suspect, David C. Anderson, 58, of Madison, was found inside an apartment a few hours later, according to police. He was arrested on suspicion of robbery of a financial institution.

The robbery investigation prompted the temporary lock down of Memorial High School and the Madison College west side campus.