SAN DIEGO — A University City man has been arrested for bank robbery after authorities tracked him down by tracing his unique getaway car; a bright orange Smart Car.
FBI agents arrested Anthony Burgess on February 16 for robbing a Navy Federal Credit Union branch in Mira Mesa four days earlier.
Burgess's getaway car, a 2008 bright orange Smart Fortwo Sedan, was one of the main clues that helped agents find and arrest Burgess.
According to a federal search warrant, obtained by CBS 8, Burgess walked into the credit union just after 2:40 p.m. on February 12.
Burgess, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, a cloth mask, and black gloves approached a teller and handed her a note that read, "Place all large bills on the counter or I will shoot you."
The teller handed Burgess cash as well as a hidden GPS tracker.
After depositing the money into a white laundry bag, Burgess went to the adjacent teller and gave a verbal demand for cash. The teller placed cash, as well as recently cashed checks, and a GPS tracker, on the counter.
Burgess allegedly then walked out of the bank with the $4,995 in cash.
He was described as being a 5'11" to 6'1" tall African American male.
After exiting the bank, authorities tracked Burgess on a series of surveillance cameras from other businesses. The cameras captured Burgess as he walked along Camino Santa Fe Road, before returning to a parking lot where his getaway car was.
At 2:45 p.m., just five minutes after entering the credit union, one of the GPS trackers stopped moving. The other showed it traveling at 50 miles per hour on Camino Santa Fe.
A surveillance camera caught what was the only car on the road; a bright orange 2008 Smart Fortwo sedan.
Moments later the second GPS tracker went dark.
Authorities then began combing law enforcement websites for information on a bright orange Smart Car.
It was the car's uniqueness that led authorities to Anthony Burgess.
"The Smart Fortwo is a unique car," reads an arrest warrant obtained by CBS 8. "Investigators have done comprehensive searches and there are only a few other orange Smart Fortwo's in the database."
The bright orange compact car was not the only lead for investigators. After discovering Burgess was the owner of the car, a quick search revealed that Burgess served more than four years in prison for a series of nine bank robberies in 2011.
