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The “Bearded Bandit” struck again Friday in what the FBI says is his 11th bank robbery in four years. But this time, witnesses got a new clue about his identity.
The FBI said a man wearing a hat, sunglasses and phony gray beard robbed the SouthPark branch of the Bank of Granite around 9:20 a.m. Witnesses said the man walked into the mostly empty bank, pointed a handgun at a teller and demanded money. Nobody was injured, and the robber got away with an undisclosed sum.
But a witness reported getting a glimpse of the suspect's neck and believes the robber is a white man.
Investigators suspect the gunman is the same man responsible for 10 other armed bank robberies in Mecklenburg County, and one in Gastonia.
He has evaded capture, an FBI spokesman says, because of his elaborate disguises and the speed at which he strikes. Typically, he wears heavy theater makeup, a hat and surgical gloves, as well as a wig, beard and mustache and glasses. Sometimes he has fake bushy eyebrows. And he often wears padding to disguise his body.
Witnesses have offered a wide variety of descriptions of the bandit. Authorities have previously thought the robber to be black or Hispanic, based on witness descriptions, but now theorize he's white.
“This man is doing everything he can to cover up every distinguishing feature,” FBI spokesman Amy Thoreson said Friday. “Most people can't get an accurate description of him, especially as quick as he is.
“He's in and out so quickly. He's not talking a whole lot during the robbery. At this point, people realize when they see him what he is in there to do.”
The FBI won't say how much money the robber has stolen. But they believe he may live in the region.
“If he's going to this length, he thinks someone is going to recognize him,” Thoreson said.
The FBI is urging anybody with information to come forward to help capture the bandit and to avoid possible charges as an accessory.
“He's armed. If people have guns, they have intent to use them. We want to find this guy to make sure he's not going to hurt anybody,” Thoreson said.
“There is somebody who knows who this guy is. Somebody knows he is robbing banks and has money he shouldn't have. And we want that person to come forward.”
The N.C. Bankers Association is offering a reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect in Friday's Bank of Granite robbery at 3920 Sharon Road.
Anyone with information about the bandit or the robberies is asked to call the FBI's Charlotte office at 704-377-9200. Or, call Crime Stoppers: 704-334-1600.
