Man Arrested In Practical Joke Gone Awry

[Cuong]

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - A Savannah man was arrested after he told a 13-year-old girl to hand a note to a bank teller threatening a holdup, police said.

Michael Lyons, 45, told police that he and a group of girls celebrating his daughter's birthday were trying to play a practical joke. The note said "Give me all of your money, this is a stick up," according to a police report.

While Lyons was getting money out of an ATM on Friday, the girl went into the bank and handed the note to a teller.

The teller sounded the bank's alarm and police and FBI surrounded the building searching for suspected burglars.

Instead, they found Lyons and the group of girls.

Lyons was charged with criminal attempt of robbery by intimidation, said Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police spokesman Bucky Burnsed.

"You can't yell fire in a crowded theater, can't joke about a bomb in your luggage at the airport, and you can't write notes to cashier that say 'This is a stick up,'" Burnsed said.

[8 Key Guardian]

that was a stupid thing to do