A Manhattan cop used math skills — and a little luck — to bust a serial bank robber on Wednesday, law-enforcement sources told The Post.
James Walton, who was wanted for 11 robberies, had just attempted to knock over a Capital One on University Place when Officer Brian Daniels got the call around 11 a.m., the sources said.
“He passed the teller a note, but [the teller] walked away from him without giving him cash,” explained one law-enforcement source.
“Another teller recognized him from a previous robbery at the bank and called 911,” the source said.
“He took the note and walked out. Then his description and direction of flight were sent out over the radios.”
Knowing the thief was headed north, Daniels estimated Walton would have made it to the East 20s, sources said. Daniels, who’s assigned to the 6th Precinct, also knew Walton had robbed banks before in the Flatiron District.
So he drove up Park Avenue South, scanning the faces of pedestrians.
He soon spotted Walton walking toward a Bank of America at East 25th Street, presumably to rob it, and screamed, “That’s him,” sources said.
The eagle-eyed cop jumped out and grabbed Walton, who groaned, “You got me,” sources said.
Walton has confessed to hitting 11 banks and taking a total of $22,000 since March 6, police sources said. He is charged with nine counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.
On Saturday, he walked into a Chase Bank on Fifth Avenue near East 27th Street and slipped a note to a teller that read, “I have a gun. Don’t get your greeter shot. Give me all big bills now. I shoot in 20 seconds,” sources said.
The thief fled with an unspecified amount of cash.
Walton launched his alleged spree at about 12:30 p.m. March 6, at an HSBC Bank on Fifth Avenue near East 21 Street when he passed a note demanding money to a teller, cops said.
That same month, he went on to rob two Capital One banks in similar fashion on the Upper West Side and the Village, cops said. He pocketed $3,400 in the three heists, police said.
He allegedly knocked over six of the banks in April, including an HSBC on the Upper East Side, a Chase in the Flatiron District and a Capital One in Midtown.