Charmed Robbery

Kids say the darnedest things. Why, only the other day a nine-year-old named Robert--his surname remains undisclosed--marched into a busy midtown Manhattan bank and said, "This is a holdup! Don't say a silent word!" The teller giggled--until the child leveled a silver automatic at her. "I have a gun and give me money," the boy insisted. After receiving $118, Robert smiled, said "Thanks," and ran off into history as the city's youngest bank robber.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Robert surrendered to the FBI and was charged last week with armed robbery. Robert's lawyer, Mel Sachs, contends that the gun was a toy, and the robbery merely a game that went too far. Says Sachs: "He's not Public Enemy No. 1. He's a nine-year-old who was playing in the bank, and the money was handed over to him. He is a victim of the impact of television." If Robert had not given himself up, he might have escaped detection entirely. At 4 ft. 5 in., he was too short to be caught by the bank's security cameras.

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