They broaden their target zone: Tuesday's bank heist in Gainesville is the farthest north they have struck.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published September 20, 2003
[Photo courtesy of Florida Department of Law Enforcement]
This surveillance photograph shows the Band-Aid Bandit at work in a recent robbery. Authorities describe him as very calm and smooth. He and his partner both wield handguns during their stickups.
One of the Tampa Bay area's most prolific and clever bank robbers struck again this week, holding up banks in Ocala and Gainesville.
Called the Band-Aid Bandit because of a bandage he sometimes wears on his face, the robber has now stuck up 30 Florida banks over the last three years. He also has aborted two robbery attempts.
Investigators have no idea who he is and have been bedeviled by a lack of leads and tips.
However, the robber is showing signs that he knows just how much police want to catch him.
For one, he is expanding his target zone. The Band-Aid Bandit's holdup Tuesday in Gainesville is the farthest north he has hit; and a Sarasota bank he held up Aug. 15 is the farthest south.
Also, an accomplice who played only minor roles in previous holdups, usually serving as a getaway driver, is now more involved in the robberies, sometimes entering the banks and giving orders to tellers.
While the Band-Aid Bandit is very calm and smooth, authorities say, his partner has appeared more high-strung. Both men wield handguns during their stickups.
"The other robber appears more agitated, barking orders and things like that," said Agent Steve Davenport of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has been assisting detectives from 16 agencies searching for the bandit.
"We kind of think we're maybe pushing them a little bit, but that's good," Davenport said. "I have a feeling he knows we're after him. Something has pushed him farther south than he ever did before and farther north."
Though investigators have a pretty good feel for when the bandit will hit - usually every three or four weeks - they are having trouble predicting where. He has hit banks in eight counties. The only counties he has left alone in the region are Manatee and Pasco, leading some investigators to think he may live in one of them.
Though the bandit has always worn disguises, including goofy wigs and large moustaches, the getups he and his partner are now donning appear more elaborate - including beards and goatees.
The bandage the bandit wears may be to cover a mole or scar. He also has pigmentation on his hands that may be vitiligo, a condition that produces milky-white patches on the skin.
The Band-Aid Bandit is stocky and weighs upwards of 200 pounds. He appears to be in his late 30s or early 40s. His partner is slimmer and perhaps about the same age. They have spoken English and Spanish during the robberies and have used a variety of getaway cars.
Davenport said the robberies are well-planned. He believes the bandits spy on the banks before robbing them. "They are sophisticated," he said.
Investigators and the Florida Bankers Association are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the Band-Aid Bandit and his partner.
"He's a very high priority," Davenport said. "We have 16 law enforcement agencies and people in the private sector working together to try to identify and apprehend these subjects."
Anyone with information about the Band-Aid Bandit robberies can call the Florida Department of Law Enforcement toll-free at 1-800-226-1140 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477. A $15,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the robbers' capture.
