CARLSBAD – A man suspected of holding up a bank with a fake gun Monday was arrested shortly afterward while heading toward Interstate 5, police said.

The robbery occurred about 9:20 a.m. at U.S. Bank on Carlsbad Village Drive near Jefferson Street, said Lt. Jay Eppel.

Carlsbad police Officer Gary Marshall, responding to a 911 call from the bank, saw a man matching the description of the robber driving a green Lexus east on Carlsbad Village Drive and onto the southbound I-5 on-ramp.

The driver was pulled over on the on-ramp, and officers saw money on the floor of the car by the front passenger seat, Eppel said.

Murrel Vailes, 30, was identified by two witnesses and was arrested and booked into federal jail in downtown San Diego.

In an alley near the bank, officers found a replica handgun and a blue shirt that matched the description of one worn by the robber.

An arrest warrant had been issued for Vailes stemming from a July 15 robbery at Mission Federal Credit Union in Chula Vista.

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