'This is a stick-up ... and this is one sexy outfit'

Given how much Houstonist loves a good bank robbery story, we don't know how we missed the news item last week about an exceptionally courteous man who knocked over a downtown bank branch Friday afternoon. According to KHOU, the guy walked into the Amegy Bank at 1801 Main St. around 1:30 p.m. Friday and waited in line at a teller window; when he got to the front, he handed the teller a note demanding cash. He gave the teller a paper bag, and while she was filling it he repeatedly thanked her for her cooperation — because, you know, there's really no need to get nasty during a robbery, is there? The man left the bank with the cash and headed south on Fannin, and far as we know, he hasn't been caught yet.

As if that wasn't enough, another bank robber over the weekend took a different approach: He dressed as a woman while stealing money from a bank branch inside a Conroe Kroger store. According to police, the man — who was wearing a dark wig, red lipstick, sunglasses and a woman's pantsuit — walked into the Woodforest National Bank branch in the Kroger in the 2000 block of I-45 North around 7 p.m. Saturday and demanded that tellers fill a plastic bag with money. They did, and the man fled, though no one's sure whether he got away on foot or in a car. Kroger management told police that two Houston stores have been robbed by a man matching the bank robber's description (a Hispanic man between 6 feet and 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing between 160 and 180 pounds) in the last few months, but in both cases, the man robbed the stores' customer service booths.

Anyone with information on the downtown robbery should call Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS; if you know anything about the Conroe incident, call 936.522.3258.