Parolee robbed a Santa Ana bank then was caught while fleeing in an OCTA bus

Imagine getting out of jail then, as a parolee, making the decision to rob a bank?  Well that happened this morning when an unarmed Joseph Springer Erickson, 34, robbed the Chase Bank branch located at 3600 South Bristol Street, at around 11:20 a.m., according to the O.C. Register.

Erickson handed a bank clerk a note demanding money. The teller gave him cash, but for perhaps he had second thoughts as Erickson then handed the money over to another bank employee before taking off on foot.

That is when this story got very weird.  Erickson did not have a getaway car. So instead he got onto an OCTA bus that was working Route 57.

Unfortunately for Erickson, witnesses tipped off the O.C. Sheriff Department and they diverted one of their helicopters, which had been on the way to the bank robbery, to instead trail the bus form above.

When the bus stopped at Bristol and Baker Street, police officers from the SAPD and the Costa Mesa Police Department boarded the bus and immediately arrested the suspect, on suspicion of robbery. No one was hurt.

Our readers reported on our Facebook page that Bristol was a hot mess during the pursuit, with cops all over the place.

So parolee Erickson is headed back to prison, where he will at least get a balogna sandwich for lunch every day, and free health care.  Plus a bunk bed and a toilet to share with his new roomies.

The attempted robbery took place in Santa Ana’s Ward 4, which is represented by Councilman David Benavides.