Run a Red Light and Yule Be Sorry: Center City Traffic Stop Nabs Man Whom Police Think is ‘Holiday Bank Bandit’
By David Gambacorta & Damon C. Williams, Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Daily News
Dec. 30–The holiday may be over for the “Holiday Bank Bandit.”
Cops last night had an unidentified man in custody whom they nabbed for speeding in Center City and whom they suspect is the man behind a string of recent Philadelphia bank robberies.
The Montgomery County man was nabbed by Philadelphia police yesterday after he sped through a Center City traffic light, authorities said.
A police officer enforcing the city’s “Don’t Block the Box” traffic law spotted the suspect at noon after his white van made a wild right-hand turn off of 12th Street onto Market.
“He turned at such a high speed that [his car] fishtailed. That drew the officer’s attention,” said Capt. Benjamin Na-ish, head of the police public-affairs office.
Naish said a check through police radio determined that the van had been stolen and was sought in connection with six recent area bank robberies.
Additional officers arrived and arrested the 34-year-old suspect and charged him with operating a stolen vehicle. Naish said the man “appeared to be under the influence of narcotics,” and was taken to nearby Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for observation.
Police would not release his name last night.
Naish said the arresting officers also found drugs, a fake handgun and a significant amount of cash in the suspect’s van.
Police were testing the drugs, which appeared to be marijuana and cocaine, Naish said. He said he expected the suspect to be charged with drug possession and possibly driving under the influence.
Naish added that the police Major Crimes Unit and the FBI were working together to positively identify the suspect as the so-called “Holiday Bank Bandit.” Arresting officers did see a resemblance between the suspect and photos of the bank-robbery suspect, Naish said.
Authorities estimated that the “Bandit” had stolen about $20,000 over the course of his six heists, which began on Dec. 19 with the holdup of a Wachovia Bank on Roosevelt Boulevard. The thief also robbed two banks on Wednesday: a Citizens Bank in Wynnewood, and a Beneficial Bank on City Avenue in which he brandished a gun.
He also is suspected in robberies at a Wachovia Bank on Ridge Avenue on Dec. 22, a Christmas Eve robbery at a Citizens Bank on Welsh Road, and at a Citizens Bank on Frankford Avenue on Tuesday.
He made a mark not only with his prolific activity but also his odd attire – the “Bandit” appeared to wear thick construction glasses with a patch over the left eye. “Within nine days, he robbed six banks, and that’s very odd for us,” said FBI spokesperson Jerri Williams. “We have serial robbers, but there’s usually a week or two between robberies, especially if they obtain money.”
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Copyright (c) 2005, Philadelphia Daily News
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