Walton bank robber suspect ID'd by demand note (UPDATED with PHOTO)

WATERCOLOR - A man who said he was armed robbed a SunTrust Bank in South Walton County on Wednesday morning, but police caught up with him hours later.

Thomas Banno's demand note, investigators said, was written on the back of an old receipt that identified him.

The holdup occurred about 10:30 a.m. at the bank near the corner of County Road 395 and Lake Forest Drive at Watercolor.

Banno, 40, of Santa Rosa Beach, said he was armed, said Tammy Godwin, executive assistant to Sheriff Mike Adkinson, but "no one in the building actually saw the weapon, so we have to believe what he told us. I do know there were no injuries involved."

He had dropped off his girlfriend at a Publix grocery store and then parked his car behind it, according to the Sheriff's Office. Then he walked to the bank.

Godwin said she did not know whether there were any customers in the bank at the time. She would not release any other details, but the Sheriff's Office said it recovered a "large sum of cash."

A sheet of paper taped to bank's glass door early Wednesday afternoon said the business was closed "due to an emergency" and would reopen at 2 p.m.

Meanwhile, a helicopter and search dogs helped look for a suspect.

By 3 p.m., Panama City police had arrested Banno on an outstanding worthless check warrant and contacted the Sheriff's Office.

He matched the information on the robbery note. Walton County deputies went to Panama City, took Banno into custody and charged him with felony bank robbery.

He was being held Wednesday night at the Walton County Jail.