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Reward for bandit stands at $25,000

Detectives hope the lucrative amount will help catch one of the area's most prolific bank robbers.

The Band-Aid Bandit's lust for cash has resulted in 31 bank robberies and more than $100,000 in losses over the last three years.

But investigators hope the public's thirst for money will be his downfall.

Detectives have increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of Tampa Bay's most prolific active bank robber to $25,000, one of the highest bounties ever offered in a bank robbery investigation.

"All the agencies that are involved, along with the banking industry, decided to put up some more money for the reward," said Agent Steve Davenport of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "That's one of the biggest for a bank robber that I've seen in awhile."

In addition, Crime Stoppers of West Central Florida and Clear Channel Outdoor have partnered to put up 19 billboards asking for people to call authorities with information. One of the billboards is in Pasco County, the other 18 are in Hillsborough.

Davenport said more billboards may be put up in Pinellas and Polk counties.

The Band-Aid Bandit has been robbing Florida banks, most of them in the Tampa Bay area, since December 2000. He gets his name because he sometimes wears a bandage on his left cheek.

The robber always has a getaway driver, though that man has been joining the bandit inside the banks recently. Both men wield handguns.

Though the men wear large wigs and goofy moustaches, their faces have been visible and clear. Surveillance photos have been shown in local newspapers and on television broadcasts, but tips have been few and far between.

"With the amount of money we're offering, it seems like we would have a great number of people calling in, trying to get the reward money," he said.

Davenport said he thinks both men are Spanish-speaking and may be from areas where people do not read English newspapers. He said local police departments have handed out more than 3,000 fliers to local Hispanic businesses and organizations in hopes someone will recognize the men.

The billboards are another way to widen the net.

"I think this guy is going to be part of the Hispanic community, maybe not here in Tampa and maybe in another area," Davenport said. "Someone has to know who he is and has to have seen him."

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 used a variety of getaway cars. The most recent was a blue or silver Buick or Oldsmobile.

Davenport said he thinks the Band-Aid Bandit scopes out his banks, perhaps for days, before robbing them. The agent believes he has been bringing in his getaway driver to control the customers and tellers. They have been in the banks longer recently and are getting more cash.

"We do know he does his homework," Davenport said. "I don't think he just barrels right in. He sits out there and waits for an opportune moment."

He said detectives from more than a dozen agencies are working on the case.

"I think they're looking at it as a challenge," he said. "These guys are good cops and every once in a while you run across somebody who is either a little bit lucky and a little bit good, or a lot lucky."

- Chris Tisch can be reached at 445-4156 or tisch@sptimes.com

Anyone with information about the Band-Aid Bandit and his accomplice can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477. A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the robbers. Callers can remain anonymous and still collect their reward.