The man who robbed East Palo Alto’s only bank yesterday made his escape through the IKEA parking structure, reports the Mercury News.

Maybe the bank robber had visions of filling his living room with Swedish-themed furniture. Or perhaps he figured he could lose his pursuers in the maze of simple, trendy and affordable home furnishings.

Whatever his reasons for racing into the Ikea garage Monday afternoon, it worked. Late Monday, East Palo Alto police were still searching for a man who brandished a handgun at California Bank and Trust, took an undisclosed sum from a teller and escaped by running across the street and through the floor-level garage.

A bank heist like this hasn’t happened in East Palo Alto in more than 20 years — the city didn’t have a bank from 1985 to 2002. And Ikea, which opened last year, wasn’t around to serve as an escape route.

Here’s the Chronicle’s version of the same story, in case you can’t get through the Merc’s silly new registration.