Man arrested for bringing fake gun into bank

SOUTHGATE, Mich. - Scary moments in Southgate when a man walked into a bank with what appeared to be a gun.

It turned out to be a toy but Jeremy Amidon's actions didn't help diffuse the situation.

It happened Monday when a friend drove him to a PNC bank so he could cash a check and buy his grandmother a new cell phone. But he saw his nephew left his toy gun in the car. He said he put it in his back pocket.

"I pulled the gun out and in the back of my mind I said oh crap, this probably doesn't look good," said Amidon.

Needless to say, Amidon was right.

He claims the teller did not pay any attention to the check or ID he pulled out immediately after. Her eyes were glued to the gun.

Like after 20 seconds she started crying," Amidon said. "I said 'Honey I'm sorry, it's not a real gun. I apologize, I'm not here to stick up the place."

But the damage was already done and Southgate police showed up soon after. And now Amidon is in legal trouble after an admittedly bone-headed decision.

"I wasn't thinking," he said. "But if I was going to rob a bank I wouldn't have given the woman my ID, with my first and last name, my check with fingerprints on them."

Amidon says the toy gun belongs to his nephew Mateo and he claims it was painstakingly obvious the gun wasn't real.

"It was neon blue, it had a black handle on it and it had a large orange tip on it," he said. "I mean you could tell from a mile away it was a toy gun."

Other reports indicate Amidon waved the gun around and allegedly tried to calm people by saying 'Hey it's not like it's an Uzi."

He denies that happened.

A retired cop in the bank spotted the handle of the toy gun in Amidon's pocket and he alerted police outside. They came in with real guns.

"I said 'Officer,  I'm sure you're here for me, I apologize for any inconvenience,'" Amidon said. "And he's like, 'Well where's the weapon?' I said officer it's not a weapon, it's my nephew's toy gun. I regret bringing it in.'

"Now you know."

Bill Kucyk is a gun shop owner and former cop.

FOX 2: Is it ever a good idea to bring a fake gun into a bank?"

"Never, absolutely never," he said. "If someone implies they have a gun or if they have anything that resembles a firearm, they are to consider it a gun and have to assume it's a gun."

"My intention was to go in the bank and cash a check," Amidon said. "Not scare anybody in the bank or have the SWAT team show up."

Amidon was charged with disorderly conduct and having a fake gun.

He agreed to a plea deal and will be back in court next week. He is hoping to get probation.