It sounds like one of those "News of the Weird" pieces you read for fun, but when one teller was confronted with a pitchfork-wielding robber, it was no laughing matter.
Fred Simunovic was arrested just days after he allegedly walked into KEYS FCU carrying pitchfork and a plastic bag and threatened a teller with the farm implement, demanding money be put in the bag. Simunovic allegedly ran off, leaving the pitchfork behind in an alley near the CU.
"I know it's kind of amusing to talk about, but it was a little traumatic for the person who had to deal with it," said John Dolan-Heitlinger, CEO of KEYS FCU.
The suspect was arrested as he waited to board the Key West Ferry to Fort Myers, when the captain refused to let him board because he appeared to be drunk. Police found $1,900 on Simunovic at his arrest, money that is believed to be part of what he allegedly stole from KFCU.
As funny and strange as the incident sounds, the CEO of KEYS FCU doesn't make light of it.
"For one thing, it's a little scary when someone holds a sharp, pointed object up to you that is capable of doing some real damage," Dolan-Heitlinger related. "And for another, the guy was kind of spooky. He's going to go to jail. He's kind of a pathetic jerk, really."
