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Infamous Band-Aid Bandit suspect jailed

The notorious robber went on a regional rampage of bank stickups, including two jobs in Citrus County.

By MOISES MENDOZA
Published July 21, 2006

INVERNESS - The Band-Aid Bandit didn't spare Citrus County during his bank robbery spree, which lasted from 2000 to this month.

Authorities say he struck Inverness banks at least twice: The Capital City branch on U.S. 41 in the Inverness Regional Shopping Center in 2003, and a SouthTrust branch on Highland Boulevard in 2005.

On Thursday, authorities arrested Rafael Rondon of Clermont and accused him of being the Band-Aid Bandit, so named because he wore a bandage on his cheek during some robberies.

Authorities say Rondon may be responsible for up to 39 bank robberies and two attempted robberies in nine counties. So far, Rondon and an accomplice are formally accused of two Pasco County bank robberies and a third one in Hillsborough.

Memories in Citrus remain raw for some people, including Heather Duncan, a secretary at Ameri-Life and Health Services, two doors down from the SouthTrust branch, which now is a Wachovia branch.

Duncan remembers law officers locking down all the surrounding businesses on Feb. 17, 2005, minutes after the Band-Aid Bandit struck. From 9:30 a.m. to about 11 a.m, law officers, canine units and a helicopter swarmed the area.

According to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, a man entered the bank shortly before 9:30 a.m., brandished a handgun at customers and employees and demanded money. He wore a mustache, wig and glasses. And he wore the trademark round bandage on his left cheek, the Sheriff's Office said.

"It was kind of exciting because nothing like that had ever happened before, but it was really scary too," Duncan said Thursday. "When we pulled up here that morning everything was fine, then he went over and robbed the place."

About 9:20 a.m. May 21, 2003, two men entered the Capital City branch. They wore black wigs, what appeared to be fake mustaches and dark suit jackets, authorities said at the time.

They herded the six or seven employees inside behind the teller counter.

The men demanded money and emptied the cash into a bag. They carried handguns but did not fire them, authorities said.

Now, law officers in Citrus County and around the state are celebrating Rondon's arrest.

In a prepared statement, sheriff's Capt. Jim Cernich said detectives would be looking at old evidence from the Citrus County cases to determine if Rondon was the robber.

He said teamwork among law enforcement agencies was largely responsible for the arrests of Rondon and his accused accomplice, Emeregildo Roman of Polk County.

"All of us at the Sheriff's Office are very pleased with these arrests," Cernich said.

Moises Mendoza can be reached at mmendoza@sptimes.com or 860-7337.

[Last modified July 21, 2006, 06:40:12]