A police video camera captured the 35-year-old John Ford of Cleveland grabbing the paper with his mouth as police emptied his pockets.
Ford was arrested following a report of a bank robbery in Streetsboro just south of Cleveland on Thursday.
Police say a man walked into the bank and handed a teller a note that demanded money.
Police say they found money in a bag in Ford's car, which fit the description of the bank robber's vehicle, along with a bank die pack that had exploded.
Ford was being held in the Portage County Jail on Saturday where his file did not indicate he had a lawyer.