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NORA KOCHIn two of three bank robberies, a suspect wore sleeveless shirts.
First, a mustachioed man hit a bank in Palm Harbor. Two days later, police think, the same man robbed a St. Petersburg bank and within a week struck again in Ocala.
Now three agencies are looking for the "Bicep Bandit," a white male who passed notes to tellers demanding money and then fled in a white car, law enforcement officials say.
"We're saying it's the same guy based on the photo, based on the car description and based on the M.O.," said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Profitt.
In two robberies, he wore sleeveless shirts. In each case the man escaped with an undisclosed amount of money. He also implied that he had a weapon.
Surveillance tapes were used in the investigation of each robbery. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the Palm Harbor robbery, alerted the public Tuesday to the three robberies, showing photos of a suspect at the banks.
On Monday June 14, a Peoples Bank in Palm Harbor was robbed at 11:13 a.m., according to the Sheriff's Office. The suspect, who was wearing a sleeveless white shirt and shorts and driving a white vehicle, made off with an undisclosed amount of money after passing a note demanding cash.
Two days later, a similar robbery occurred at 12:40 p.m. in the SunTrust Bank on 38th Avenue N in St. Petersburg. The suspect was wearing a black and white short-sleeved shirt, black shorts and a watch on his left wrist. St. Petersburg police say a white male entered the bank, passed a note to the teller and implied that he had a weapon. He fled after receiving an undisclosed amount of money.
In Ocala on Monday, an AmSouth Bank was robbed in the same fashion: by passing a note to the teller and implying he had a gun, according to the Ocala police. Witnesses said the suspect fled in a white car.
The suspect in all three robberies is a white male, about 28 to 40 years old with short brown hair and varying degrees of facial hair. He is between 5 feet 11 and 6 feet tall, and weighs 165 to 180 lbs. His vehicle is described as a late-model four-door Buick Century, possibly with tags from Minnesota or Montana.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office robbery unit at (727) 582-6200.