Bank 'robber' actually a cardboard cutout
Published: Nov. 29, 2008 at 12:28 AM

SOMERVILLE, N.J., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- It appears the 'robber' spotted by police inside a bank in Somerset County, N.J., was actually a cardboard figure, authorities say.

The cutout kept police officers at bay for about 90 minutes Thursday night, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported. Officers showed up in force outside the PNC Bank in Montgomery Township about 8:40 p.m. when the bank's alarm went off, county prosecutor Wayne Forrest said.

They thought they saw at least one person through the bank's blind-covered windows, prompting them to seal off the area to traffic and evacuate people from three nearby apartment buildings.

When efforts to make contact with the "intruder" with bullhorns failed, officers tried to phone inside the building, Forrest said.

Finally, a SWAT team went inside, only to learn the "person" officers had seen was actually a full-size cardboard figure, the prosecutor said.

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