Bank robber tried to use Uber as a getaway car in Weymouth

Police say Luis Mallett tried to use an Uber as a getaway after robbing the Santander Bank on Pleasant Street in Weymouth.Weymouth Police

When a Weymouth man needed a getaway car after robbing a bank on Monday, he did what many others do when they need a ride — he called Uber, police allege.

Luis Mallett entered the Santander Bank branch on Pleasant Street in Weymouth at about 5 p.m. and handed a teller a note demanding money while claiming to be armed with a bomb, police wrote in a Facebook posting.

The teller handed over some cash, and Mallett ran out of the bank. A witness told an off-duty Weymouth officer that a person matching the robber’s description got into an Uber car heading toward Brockton, police said.

Officers deployed a police dog and tracked the suspect from the bank to the spot where the person got into a red Nissan Altima operated by a Uber driver, police said.

Armed with a description of the car, police located the vehicle stopped in traffic at the corner of Main and Pond streets, according to police. They approached the vehicle and found Mallet in the rear passenger seat.

Police said Mallett had $700 with him in the car, about the same amount stolen from the bank.

Mallett was charged with unarmed robbery and a false report related to the location of an explosive, police said.

He was arraigned Tuesday in Quincy District Court, according to David Traub, spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney’s office.

Police said Mallett was also wanted on seven outstanding warrants for charges including five counts of larceny over $250, larceny under $250, larceny of a motor vehicle, uttering, and receiving stolen property.

The judge Tuesday ordered a cash bail of $100,000, but revoked his bail for a different case out of Boston Municipal Court, Traub said.

Mallett is expected to return to court on Aug. 11.