Robber Linked to 6 Bank Heists Eludes Authorities

They call him the “Both Hands Bandit.”

They say he’s so smooth that most bank employees don’t even know a robbery has happened.

And the FBI is soliciting the public’s help in searching for the man they have called one of the most active serial robbers to hit Ventura County banks in recent years. In 11 weeks, he has hit six banks in Ventura and Oxnard. In some cases he has robbed two tellers in a single hold-up before running off, or, at least once, fleeing on a bicycle.

“We’ve had people in the past who hit two or three banks and then we catch them,” said FBI Special Agent Brent Robbins. “But this is the first true serial robber I’ve seen.”

Agents coined the robber’s nickname from his habit of presenting his holdup note to tellers with both hands, taking care not to touch the counter or leave the note behind. Authorities say robbers typically slide notes across the counter and leave them at the bank as they rush to get out the door. The notes can then be dusted for fingerprints and become crucial evidence.

“I tend to think this is a guy who knows what he’s doing, and when we catch him we’ll find he’s been previously convicted of bank robbery,” Robbins said.

He added that the robber appears to be older than most, with witnesses placing him in his upper 40s or 50s. Some described him as a “regular-looking guy,” and a bank video shows him wearing a lightweight jacket and eyeglasses. He is clean shaven with a crew cut.

“One guy who talked to him in line said he seemed like a normal, typical middle-aged man,” Robbins said. “You would not think he was a bank robber.”

However, he may change his appearance from time to time, Robbins said, because some witnesses have also described him as “homeless-looking.”

The string of robberies started Aug. 10 at Mid-State Bank, then known as American Commercial Bank, on East Main Street in Ventura. Twelve days later, the California Federal Bank on Saviers Road in Oxnard was held up. On Aug. 26 the bandit robbed Goleta National Bank on South Victoria Avenue in Ventura, and then returned three days later, even choosing the same teller, Robbins said.

“He even told her, ‘Hi, it’s me again. I’m back,’ ” Robbins said.

Mid-State Bank on East Main was robbed again Oct. 9, and the California Federal Bank on South Victoria was hit Monday.

In each case, the bandit told tellers he had a gun but never showed his weapon. Authorities describe his holdups as very discreet, with the rest of the bank unaware of what’s happening. In two of the most recent robberies, the man collected cash from one teller and then moved down the counter to the next teller. In one case, the second teller had no idea her co-worker had just been robbed, Robbins said.

The bandit often wears a baseball cap. In one video, he is shown using his brown corduroy cap to carry off stacks of cash.

Despite clear pictures of the robber from bank video cameras, FBI agents have been unable to identify him. Hoping for help from the public, they are circulating the man’s photos to area news outlets.

He is described as white, with a pale complexion, 45 to 50 years old, 5-feet-10 to 6 feet tall, with graying blond hair and blue eyes. He wears prescription eyeglasses and has been seen with two different frames, one described as oversized and older-looking, the other with stylishly small square lenses and a heavy, dark frame.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI’s Ventura office at 642-3995.