Crime & Safety
FBI Links Costumed Fridley Bank Robber to Four Other Area Holdups
The well-dressed man is believed to have robbed five local grocery store banks since late March.
On July 20 a well-dressed man, about six feet tall, with a possibly fake greying goatee and thick facial makeup, , pointed a semi-automatic pistol at the teller and left in a white, two-door car with a pile of cash.
Now the FBI is saying they believe the suspect to be a serial bank robber who has hit five area grocery store banks since March. Along with facial hair and makeup, the bureau believes he's donned a rubber nose, spectacles and various hats to disguise himself during his holdups.
“He approaches the tellers, he displays a black pistol, he often throws a bag across the counter and demands the funds be put inside,” said Gregory Boosalis, an FBI spokesman.
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Boosalis said that the FBI is working with local police departments to track down the suspect.
“He tends to be well-dressed and wearing a fedora or some other type of hat,” Boosalis said. “He’ll dress as himself with either some type of fake nose or fake facial hair or glasses, and he’ll wear a suit coat or sweater—he looks like a business man.”
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Boosalis said the FBI is on the lookout for the man to strike again.
"Periodically we do have serial type bank robbers, and once they make a successful robbery, one or two, they do go on," he said.
All five robberies have taken place at lunchtime and, after the first late-March holdup, they’ve all come on Fridays.
Here’s the timeline of the suspect’s bank robbery spree, according to the FBI:
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- Monday, March 26, 11:20 a.m., , 16401 County Rd 30, Maple Grove.
- Friday, April 13, the U.S. Bank inside Byerly’s, 3777 Park Center Boulevard, St. Louis Park.
- Friday, April 27, 11:45 a.m., , 10200 6th Ave N, Plymouth.
- Friday, July 20, 11:45 a.m., , 256 57th Ave. NE, Fridley.
- Friday, Aug. 3, just after noon, the Guaranty Bank inside Rainbow Foods, 1540 New Brighton Blvd., Minneapolis.
Here’s the statement put out by police after the Fridley robbery:
JULY 20, 2012, TCF BANK AT CUB FOODS, FRIDLEY
On July 20, 2012, at approximately 11:45 am, a lone, black male entered a TCF Bank located inside the Cub Foods Store at 256 57th Avenue NE, Fridley, Minnesota. The robber approached the teller counter, gave the victim teller a bag, and brandished a handgun. After obtaining an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency, the robber fled from the bank on foot.
The robber was described as a black male with a light complexion, who was approximately 6’ to 6’1” in height and weighing approximately 200 to 215 lbs. The robber was also described as wearing a dark business suit, a white shirt, and a tan “driving cap.”
Anyone with any information regarding this robbery should contact the FBI at (701) 852-5071 or the Fridley Police Department (763) 572-3629.
More (robber who hit the same Fridley bank last year had poor grammar and a worse getaway plan):
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