Florida Man Arrested After Taking Taxi To & From $83k Bank Robbery

Florida man strikes again, this time, taking a taxi cab to rob a local Synovus Bank and then taking the same taxi right back home.

Source: Thomas Bonfert / Getty

The hashtag #FloridaMan has become an Internet sensation over the past few years after people realized a lot of wild stuff happens in Florida. On any given day when you watch the national news and see an outlandish or bizarre story, chances are, it comes from Flordia. Even fictional TV shows like FX’s Atlanta have referenced the infamous figure of ‘Florida Man’.

This latest installment of the stereotype might be the most random but slightly genius story we’ve heard about the hilarious caricature. WKRG reports one Florida man is now in jail after robbing a local Synovus bank and using a very creative form of transportation.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said to rob the bank, Shelton ordered a taxi from the Johnny on the Spot Taxi service.

“Elijah Shelton, who after this will be referred to as ‘the genius,’ decides he wants to rob a bank in Santa Rosa County,” Johnson said. “Normally, you grab a fast car so you can get away and everything. He calls a cab to his house.”

Shelton arrived at the bank, Johnson said, and went inside demanding cash. Shelton got away with about $8,300, gets back into the cab and is dropped off back at his home, according to Johnson.

“Needless to say we apprehended him pretty quickly,” Johnson said. “We haven’t recovered the money but we definitely recovered him so that’s all that matters.”

Yes, you read that correctly: the robber, Elijah Shelton, was arrested, but the police have not found the money and do not care about it. While he is surely going to spend some time behind bars for his alleged crimes, when he gets out, he will have a lot of money to spend. This is the best marketing the taxi company could have ever asked for in an era of Uber and Lyft dominating their industry.