FLORIDA (of course) — 24-year-old Cherilyn Lopez is behind bars after robbing a bank for drug money, right in front of her 3-year-old son. She was arrested moments later, on her way to buy prescription pills.

On Monday afternoon, Lopez parked her minivan next to a Regions Bank in Port Richey. She intended to leave the van running and rob the place while her toddler son sat in his car seat.

Not wanting to sit in the sweltering Florida heat, the child unbuckled himself and exited the van just as his mother entered the bank. Just as Lopez was about to execute her plan, the bank manager noticed her son outside the bank’s entrance, trying to get in. “Is that your child,” the bank manager asked her.

At that moment, Lopez had the chance to think twice about robbing the bank. Her son was standing right there and he was old enough to remember a moment like that — maybe not understand it, but remember it. He’d grow up and realize that he witnessed his mom rob a bank, even if nobody told him.

Instead of reassessing the situation, Lopez brought her son right up to the front of the queue and proceeded to extort money from the teller. The robbery was swift and silent, according to witnesses.

A security camera image of Lopez holding the teller up with her toddler son just out of view.

Unfortunately for Lopez, a witness outside the bank gave the police a description of her vehicle after seeing her flee. The cops spotted her van only three miles away from the scene of the crime.

Lopez was arrested without incident and faces charges for bank robbery and felony child neglect. Child Protective Services are trying to place her son in the custody of other family members.

The amount of cash that Lopez left the bank with was undisclosed, and so was her method of robbery. Was there a note, or a gun, or was it just a verbal exchange? The “swift and silent” aspect leads me to believe that she just walked in and asked for money, plus there was no mention of her being armed.

Needless to say, this is really bad parenting and I hope none of you would ever do this.

If I was going to rob a bank, I wouldn’t just bring one toddler with me. I’d strap a bunch of toddlers to my body because they’d make excellent bullet shields, plus their skin is really soft.

Sources: 1, 2