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Tampa man: I'm 'Crowbar Robber'
By RYAN DAVIS, Times Staff Writer
It's been a rough week for Raymond Scott Norman. On Monday, Norman said, he had to cancel a planned robbery of a Sarasota bank so he could plead guilty to drug charges in Tampa. On Tuesday, he drove to the bank but said it was too crowded for his liking. On Wednesday, the self-proclaimed bank robber returned but walked into the largest surveillance sting in the history of Tampa Bay law enforcement. Authorities say his arrest ends the infamous career of the "Crowbar Robber," the most prolific local bank bandit in decades, if not ever. Investigators think Norman has struck at least 26 times over the past three years, from Sarasota north to Ocala, netting nearly half a million dollars. Norman said he has robbed as many as 35 banks as far north as Georgia, investigators say. When asked his profession, the 45-year-old Tampa man said "bank robber." "We were worried his violence was going to increase," said Pinellas County sheriff's Cpl. Paul Martin, a lead investigator. "The powers that be said, 'Go get him.' " Since Monday, 150 law enforcement officers had staked out nearly 100 banks from Sarasota to Pasco. They figured it was about time for the bandit to strike, Martin said. He last hit Dec. 11. They focused on certain banks near escape routes such as Interstate 75 and U.S. 19. They also had a few clues, including a red Ford Thunderbird seen in a previous holdup. Another was a description of a man about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds with salt-and-pepper hair. About 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Norman -- who is 6-foot-1 and 204 pounds -- drove his 1986 Thunderbird into the parking lot of Regions Bank at Lockwood Ridge Road and University Parkway in Sarasota County. "He circled the bank three times and then he parked," said Sgt. John Kenney of the Manatee/Sarasota violent crimes task force. "We were watching him watch the bank. "He got out of his car, and he walked about 20 yards from his car, looking at the bank." Then he walked back and changed parking spots. Investigators grabbed Norman at his car. On the front seat, he had a black nylon mask, brown gloves, a loaded semiautomatic handgun and a baseball cap, Kenney said. "I'm glad it's over," investigators said Norman told them. "I'm tired of doing robberies." Said Kenney: "I asked him if he was the Crowbar Robber, and he said, 'Yeah.' " Norman was taken to Sarasota County Jail and held pending charges. He told investigators that robbing banks was the hardest job he ever held. Formerly a roofer, he told them he started hitting banks when it rained. "He said, 'I make more money robbing banks,' so he quit and started robbing banks," Martin said. At first, the robber used a hammer or crowbar, thus earning the moniker, Martin said. In the past two dozen cases, the robber used a gun. Before entering a bank, the robber pulled a mask from under his hat. Then he burst into nearly vacant banks, spewing profanity and threatening tellers with the gun. He jumped the counter and stashed money from teller drawers into a pillowcase. He shed layers of clothes as he left, hopped on a bicycle and pedaled to his getaway car, Martin said. He would leave the bike in the woods, come back a few days later, disassemble it and put it in his car. Bank tellers were scared, and investigators said it was only a matter of time until the robber killed someone. During a November robbery in Port Richey he kicked a teller who was lying on the ground, investigators said. It was his first violent act. On Wednesday, Norman told investigators that he was sorry if he hurt anybody and that he spent the money on cocaine and gambling. Two days earlier in Tampa, he pleaded guilty to cocaine and drug paraphernalia possession charges. That's just the most recent entry on a criminal record that includes burglary, theft and leaving the scene of an accident, records show. Norman told investigators that he served time at a federal prison for bank heists in Ohio, but there are no records to confirm that. Since turning 20, he has never gone more than five years between Florida arrests, records show. Norman visited his probation officer Monday afternoon, officials said. He was to go back next week. He was also to start sessions at the Center for Rational Living, a Tampa mental health center. Investigators had planned to launch a media blitz today, publicizing a $10,000 reward from the Florida Banker's Association. It was the largest reward in the group's history. Now they have 5,000 posters. "Maybe," said Manatee sheriff's spokesman Dave Bristow, "we'll have a big bonfire and celebrate." -- Times researcher Caryn Baird and staff writer David Karp contributed to this report.
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