Bank robbery suspect found

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published July 13, 2007

TAMPA - Tommy Donnell heard deputies at the door.

Donnell asked them to hold on a few minutes before hauling him to jail.

They say the he wanted a moment to savor a last smoke of crack cocaine.

"He made a comment to the detectives he was in the residence, and he was doing his last bit of drugs," said Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

They didn't wait. Donnell - 41, jobless, homeless and on probation - is accused of robbing five banks in about a month, and trying to rob a sixth. Investigators think a crack cocaine addiction fueled a need for cash.

Dubbed "Man Wearing a Bandanna," from his surveillance photos, Donnell is partly to blame for a recent surge in local bank robberies, deputies say. They showed Donnell's picture to reporters at a news conference Wednesday, and found him at 1:15 a.m. Thursday, hanging out with friends in Seffner at 5240 Williams Road.

Deputies say he typically handed the teller a note demanding money, and threatened to kill one teller. Here are the banks they say Donnell hit:

- May 23, the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union at 901 W Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Seffner. The teller said the robber gave her a note and threatened to kill her. He left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

- May 30, SunTrust Bank at 11721 Boyette Road in Riverview. The robber drove off in a white Ford with at least $300.

- June 6, Wachovia Bank at 11265 Causeway Blvd. in Brandon.

- June 14, AmSouth Bank at 3414 Lithia Pinecrest Road in Valrico. The teller refused to comply and told him to take off his sunglasses and bandanna. He took the glasses off, then got frustrated and walked out.

- June 14, Bank of America, 300 S Parsons Ave. in Seffner.

- June 26, MacDill Federal Credit Union, 1009 Providence Road in Brandon.

[Last modified July 13, 2007, 00:29:46]