Geezer Bandit bank heist spree continued ,The Geezer Bandit, allegedly robbing a U.S. Bank in Poway, has captured the public's imagination.
Move over, John Dillinger, here comes ---- a geezer?
Certainly, modern-day bank robbers are not the Tommy-gun-toting bandits of the Depression era, but come on. A Poway mom, a former biker and a transient were among those identified or charged as bank robbers in North County last year.
That list doesn't even include the most infamous robber to hit the region in recent years, the Geezer Bandit, who may or may not be an actual geezer, according to the FBI.
The apparently geriatric bandit began his spree in 2009, when he held up six banks in San Diego County, including one in Carmel Valley and one in Rancho Santa Fe. But his legend grew in 2010 as he robbed six more banks, including one in Temecula and one in Bakersfield.
Late last year, authorities bumped up the reward for information leading to his capture from $16,000 to $20,000.
"The Geezer Bandit captured America's interest from his very first robbery," said San Diego FBI spokeswoman April Langwell.
Gaining notoriety
TV comedians, including Jay Leno, and T-shirt makers also took notice.
In one of his monologues, Leno joked about the Geezer Bandit.
"The last time he walked into a bank in San Diego, he pointed a gun at the clerk and said, 'What did I come in here for?'" Leno said.
Entrepreneurs have started selling T-shirts that say, "I (heart) Geezer bandit."
Leno and T-shirt makers were not the only ones capitalizing on the Geezer Bandit's fame. One other alleged bank robber claimed he was the infamous robber.
On Nov. 1, Edward Bernard Power, 58, a former Mongol outlaw biker, was overheard saying that he was the Geezer Bandit during his attempt to rob a Carlsbad bank. He was arrested later the same day and pleaded not guilty to the bank robbery charges later that week.
Authorities said Power was not the Geezer Bandit. To date, the real Geezer remains elusive as ever.
The FBI named the Geezer Bandit for his elderly appearance. In photos released from bank surveillance videos, the robber appears to have a wrinkled face and wears eyeglasses.
The bandit typically wears a hat, usually a dark baseball cap or newsboy cap, gray slacks, dress shoes and a blue blazer. He was known to tote an oxygen tank during his earlier heists. He appears to be a white man between 60 and 70 years old, about 6 feet tall and 190 pounds, according to the FBI.
Despite his elderly appearance, FBI agents have warned that he is armed and could be dangerous.
He has used a revolver in some of his heists.
Based on witness reports, authorities also have raised the question of whether the Geezer may actually be a younger man wearing Hollywood-type makeup or a Halloween "old man" mask.
In 2010, the Geezer Bandit accounted for six of the county's more than 160 bank robberies, as of Dec. 23, FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth said. Although that total number may appear large, it was not an unusually high number for the region in recent years, Foxworth said.
Odd characters
Over the past five years, 2007 had the most heists, with 171; 2009 had the lowest number, with 101 robberies. There were 165 bank robberies in 2008 and 142 in 2006.
According to FBI statistics, most bank robberies are committed by young men. About 95 percent are committed by men, about one-third of the offenders are between ages 18 and 29, roughly half of the suspects are black and about 40 percent are whites, according to the FBI.
About half of all bank robbers are caught, according to the FBI.
However, not everyone fits those demographics. The Geezer Bandit was just one of the many unusual characters who graced bank surveillance cameras countywide.
In March, Roxanne Pennock, 37, a married mother of five kids, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for robbing two Poway banks. She also pleaded guilty to robbing two Temecula banks.
She told authorities that she lied about making sales at work and earning an extra $4,000 in commissions. When her boss caught her and threatened legal action, the Poway woman promised to repay him.
And to get that money, Pennock said she secretly turned to what she felt was her only option: bank robbery.
One of the banks she robbed was so close to her residence that she was able to run home and put her clothes in the washer as she listened to the police sirens approach the bank, according to a probation report included in court documents.
Power, the man who allegedly claimed to be the Geezer Bandit, was featured in a 2005 North County Times story. Power told the newspaper at the time that he was a former Mongol outlaw biker who left the gang after a stint in prison in 1991 on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
He told a reporter at the time that he hoped to overcome his racist and criminal past to become a role model for kids.
In January, a 63-year-old transient was arrested on suspicion of bank robbery. Stephen Hill allegedly entered the First Republic Bank in Del Mar and handed the teller a note demanding money.
A deputy later spotted him in a vehicle on South Coast Highway 101. Agents allegedly found the money and the demand note in Hill's car, authorities said.
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