TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

St. Pete Police Think 1 Person Robbed 3 Banks

ADVERTISEMENT

By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 18, 2008

Updated: 01/18/2008 10:17 am

ST. PETERSBURG - Detectives think a man who seems to be coughing frequently has robbed three banks, the latest one on Thursday.

He is described as a thin white man in his 30s with sandy blond hair.

In the latest robbery, the man walked into Bank of America at 6201 Central Ave. at 11:30 a.m., approached the teller and demanded large bills, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department. He implied he had a weapon, but none was seen. Once he had the cash, he ran off, possibly to a black Honda nearby, police said.

He was wearing a navy blue ball cap, a long sleeve shirt or jacket, bluejeans and sunglasses. A blue-and-white bandanna covered his face.

At 9:51 a.m. Jan. 11, the man, who was wearing a bandanna then, too, robbed Cornerstone Community Bank at 6600 Central Avenue, police said. He told a teller, "Open your drawer and give me all your 50 and 100 dollar bills." He then approached a second teller and made the same demand.

He stuffed the money in a grocery bag and fled, and authorities briefly locked down Bear Creek Elementary School as they searched for him, police said.

At 10:31 a.m. Jan. 7, the man entered Bank of St. Petersburg at 3065 34th St. N. He said he was armed and demanded all of a teller's money, police said. The teller complied and the man fled, possibly to a white sport utility vehicle, authorities said.

About an hour earlier, the same man had walked into SunTrust Bank at 6300 Central Ave. police said. He had his hand in a pants pocket, appeared to be nervous and was covering his face. He then said he had forgotten his identification and left the bank. No demands were made.

Anyone with information should call the robbery squad at (727) 893-7179.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT