HAMILTON — An unarmed man fooled a bank teller into giving him $500, police say, but the man also fooled himself — he left behind his driver's license.

        Charles William Kling, 27, of Liberty Township, surrendered to Hamilton police Monday and was being held in the Butler County minimum-security jail awaiting a court appearance today. He is charged with theft in an incident Saturday morning at the First National Bank of Southwestern Ohio, 2400 Dixie Highway.

        At first, police thought the bank had been robbed. But the crime is more accurately termed a “theft” because the man displayed no weapon and made no threats, said Officer Don Taylor.

The man handed over a note asking for money, and told a teller that he was with people who would kill him and his son unless he got the money to repay a debt, police reports said. The man also told the teller to alert police that the would-be killers would be taking him to Fairfield in a red Toyota.

        The teller surrendered the cash, and the man, who had also given the teller his driver's license, walked out of the bank.

        Stephen Morris, resident agent in charge of the Dayton, Ohio, FBI office, said he couldn't recall hearing of such a situation in his 13 years with the FBI.

        Hamilton Police Detective David Collins learned “the hostage situation was (a ruse) to gain cooperation in obtaining the money from the bank,” and police filed an arrest warrant using the information from the man's driver's license.

        Margaret Baker, a spokeswoman for the bank, declined comment except to say that bank staffers employ policies “to ensure the safety of our employees and the customers in the lobby.”

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