Elementary school homework assignment helps identify Pittsburgh-area bank robbery suspect, police say

An alleged bank robber in Allegheny County is wanted after a third grader's homework assignment tied him to the crime, authorities said. 

According to a criminal complaint provided, Keith Graves Jr. robbed the Century Heritage Federal Credit Union in the Olympia Shopping Center in McKeesport earlier this month. 

On May 8, around 1:30 p.m., the Allegheny County Police Department was called to assist the Versailles Borough Police Department for a reported robbery at the credit union. Investigators were told a man initially came into the bank and said he wanted to open an account for himself and his son, but did not have the proper identification to do so. 

The man then returned to the bank with a folded piece of paper, which he handed to one of the tellers, demanding $50,000, police said. He then pulled a rifle on the teller, saying, "I ain't [expletive] joking." 

The teller and another employee then emptied cash from two drawers, totalling just under $2,300. 

Through viewing surveillance footage from cameras installed at the shopping plaza, they were able to see that Graves left the scene on a self-propelled scooter, police said

After speaking with witnesses and employees, detectives learned that the note had been left behind at the bank. 

Authorities said an inspection and testing of the note found that it was written on an elementary school student's spelling worksheet with the "CKLA Spelling Practice, Unit 7, Week 1." After checking with the administration at the McKeesport Area School District, investigators learned the worksheet was used by third graders, specifically those at Francis McClure Elementary School. 

Meanwhile, one of the responding officers identified the suspect seen in surveillance footage as the complainant in a domestic violence call earlier this year on Walnut Street. 

Then, investigators checked the roster of third grade students at Francis McClure Elementary School and found a student with the same last name, living on Walnut Street, police said. That address matched the one for Graves, police added. 

"He certainly made it easy. I don't give a tutorial on how to get away with a bank robbery, but he definitely made it easy for us," Allegheny County Police Sgt. Scott Klobchar told KDKA on Thursday. 

Graves is now facing multiple charges, including aggravated assault, robbery, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, terroristic threats, and theft by unlawful taking.