Cops Put Toehold on 'Flip-Flop Bandit'

July 31, 2007 — -- Running in flip-flops is never easy -- and running from the law is no exception.

Police have arrested a 25-year-old woman who was caught on tape Friday robbing a Virginia bank in a low-cut, sleeveless shirt, a miniskirt, sunglasses and flip-flops.

The suspect, identified as Sarah L. Rawlings, was nabbed without incident late Monday, just days after police released surveillance footage featuring her midday heist.

"We obviously received a number of tips," said Ann Reid, a spokesman for the Chesterfield Police Department. "And through investigative work, were were led to her."

Rawlings, described by police as a 5-foot 7-inch brunette, entered a BB&T bank branch east of Richmond, Va., shortly before 2 p.m. Friday. Wearing oversized sunglasses, she approached the teller after waiting patiently in line and presented a note indicating she had a weapon and demanding money. The teller complied, according to police, and the woman left with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured during the robbery.

"It seems she was apparently having some money issues and unfortunately, she chose to deal with it this way," Reid said.

Though Rawlings, who is being held without bond pending a court hearing, may seem an unlikely robber, she's one of several female bandits recently caught on camera during a bank robbery.

The FBI continues to hunt for a blond-haired woman in her 20s who favors a low-slung baseball hat as her holdup outfit and is believed to be responsible for at least three bank robberies since May in Arizona, California and Washington state.

Like the woman wanted in the Chesterfield County bank robbery, she used a note to demand cash before fleeing on foot.

A pair of young Georgia women made national headlines earlier this year when they appeared on a surveillance tape in February giggling as they robbed a Bank of America location, making off with $11,000.

The heist turned out to be an inside job. Heather Johnson, one of the two girls involved, told "Good Morning America" in May that the whole incident began as a joke.

"I mean, it's crossed a lot of people's minds, from what I've heard," Johnson said.