Robber used bomb threat to rob Bradenton bank. Now he’s in jail, cops say 

A hunt for the man who robbed a Bradenton bank with a bomb threat over the weekend has ended, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Bernard Joseph Arthur, 62, was arrested in Sarasota after detectives identified him as the masked man in bank surveillance footage thanks to multiple tips from the public.

The robbery occurred just after 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Wells Fargo bank at 6285 14th St. W., Bradenton.

Detectives said the man, now identified as Arthur, walked into the bank and got in the teller line. He appeared to be talking to someone on the phone. When he got to the front of the line, he passed a note to the teller that demanded specific denominations of cash, according to the sheriff’s office. The note said that a bomb would detonate if the demands were not met.

The teller gave Arthur an “undisclosed amount” of cash but was able to engage the bank’s silent alarm system, according to the sheriff’s office.

Arthur’s booking details were not yet available on Tuesday afternoon.

A criminal fraud case against Arthur in Sarasota County is also ongoing, according to court records. According to a probable cause affidavit, Arthur collected thousands of dollars from a resident to remodel driveways at two homes in October. However, he was not licensed or insured to do the work and he did not complete it, according to the affidavit.

When the homeowner demanded repayment, Arthur wrote a refund check from his Wells Fargo bank account for funds he did not have, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Arthur admitted in a recorded interview that he knew he did not have the funds to cover the check, according to the sheriff’s office.