This was not to be Tarleton’s day. It was the first time he’d ever worn a mask. It was also the first time he’d ever held up a bank.

As Tarleton ran from the Caroline County Bank & Trust Company, north of Richmond, VA, a self-appointed posse of bystanders gathered to follow his escape route. Trying to transfer money from the bank bag and stuff it into his pockets while on the run wasn’t easy. Tarleton left a trail of $100 bills along the way as he ran.

By the time Tarleton got to his getaway car—parked three blocks away—he discovered he’d locked the keys in the car. Don’t you hate it when you do that?

Tarleton found a small tree branch on the sidewalk which he used to pound on the car window, but that didn’t help a bit.

Right about now, the ad hoc posse of bystanders are beginning to catch up with the masked bandit. As he runs, the 61-year-old robber tries to fire a shot at the posse but succeeds only in shooting himself in the leg.

Once the posse catches up with the now limping bank robber, he tries to shoot his captors but they’re able to wrestle the gun away without another shot being fired. Tarleton is soon handcuffed and put into the back of a Caroline County deputy sheriff’s patrol car. First he is taken to an emergency room for treatment of his self-inflicted gunshot wound which did little more than graze the outside of his leg. That afternoon Tarleton is booked into the county lockup.

He is charged with eight felonies. The most serious of these charges includes bank robbery and two counts of attempted murder.

All of the bank’s money is recovered, including the numerous $100 bills that marked the fleeing bank robber’s escape path. "People turned in the money," said the sheriff. "We’ve got lots of honest folks around here—except for one I can think of," gesturing toward Tarleton.