Elsinore Man Dons Blackface To Rob Bank: Police

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A Lake Elsinore man is accused of trying to steal from a bank in nearby Corona over the summer while clad in a blackface disguise and beanie. Now, nearly three months later, sheriff's officials say they've caught up with the would-be bank robber thanks to recent developments in the case.

The attempted bank robbery happened on Aug. 18 at a Wells Fargo location in the 11000 block of De Palma Road, according to sheriff's Sgt. Brett Seckinger. Jerrad Schmittle, 40, is accused of walking into the location at around 1:30 p.m. and demanding money from a teller.

"The investigation revealed a white male adult, with obvious dark make up to disguise his appearance, handed a note to a teller demanding money and verbally stated he was armed with a gun," Seckinger said in a news release.

However, "after waiting several seconds," the man took off running without any money, according to the sergeant.

"Detectives from the Lake Elsinore station, along with the Riverside Sheriff’s Department Forensics Unit, processed the scene and collected evidence," Seckinger said. "The identity of the suspect remained unknown."

Then on Nov. 1, police said the case moved forward.

"[L]eads developed from the physical evidence collected from the scene [and] revealed a possible identification of the suspect," according to the sergeant.

Sheriff's officials served a search warrant on Malaga Road in Lake Elsinore on Wednesday, and Schmittle was arrested around 4 p.m., according to police and jail reports. He was booked into the French Valley jail in lieu of $35,000 bail.

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• Elsinore Crooks Caught With Canoe Crammed With Guns: Cops

— Surveillance photo courtesy of the FBI / Jail booking photo courtesy of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department