The State : Roses Are Red, Bandit Is Blue

A 19-year-old man believed to be the “rosebud bandit” who committed an unusual series of armed robberies was arrested at gunpoint by Palo Alto police. Fernando M. Rodriquez of East Palo Alto was booked for investigation of eight counts of armed robbery in the holdups of flower shops. Police said the robber stole cash and at least a dozen red roses in each holdup. Rodriquez was apprehended by police an hour after a man fitting his description ran empty-handed out of a flower shop. The clerk said he called police after recognizing the thief as the same man who stole $100 and three dozen red roses from his store a week earlier. Police said Rodriquez confessed to the robberies, and explained the roses were for his girlfriends.