Crime & Safety

The Geezer Bandit May Be Back in Action Around San Diego

The serial bank robber, who is believed to have hit a Santee location in 2009, struck in La Jolla recently.

The Geezer Bandit may be working his old turf again.

Investigators have decided that the retirement-age serial bank robber, who committed 10 San Diego-area heists before taking his one-old-man crime spree north into other parts of California last year, is responsible for a holdup that occurred in La Jolla six weeks ago, according to the FBI.

The determination stemmed from follow-up comparison of surveillance photos taken during the recent crime and the others in the two-year series of armed robberies, according to the federal agency.

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A $20,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thief, described as a roughly 5-foot-11-inch, 195-pound white man.

The prolific crook, who has threatened tellers with a revolver during the holdups, appears to be in his late 60s or 70s, though investigators have said it's possible he disguises himself with a Halloween-style "old man" mask and gloves.

Find out what's happening in Santeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Geezer Bandit is believed responsible for the following San Diego robberies:

-- Sept. 30, Wells Fargo, 7544 Girard Ave., La Jolla;

-- June 7, 2010, US Bank, 14837 Pomerado Road, Poway;

-- May 11, 2010, Bank of America, 9711 Mission Gorge Road, Santee;

-- April 30, 2010, US Bank, 1301 E. Vista Way, Vista;

-- April 20, 2010, California Bank and Trust, 140 Escondido Ave., Vista;

-- Jan. 27, 2010, San Diego National Bank, 1075 Rosecrans St., Point Loma;

-- Nov. 16, 2009, Bank of America, 7680 Girard Ave.; La Jolla;

-- Oct. 26, 2009, Bank of America, 17008 Avenida de Acacias, Rancho Santa Fe;

-- Oct. 9, 2009, US Bank, 4627 Carmel Mountain Road, Carmel Valley;

-- Sept. 12, 2009, San Diego National Bank, 7877 Ivanhoe Ave., La Jolla;

-- Aug. 28, 2009, , 9643 Mission Gorge Road, Santee.

Additionally, the craggy bandit robbed banks in Temecula, Bakersfield, Goleta and Morro Bay between June 2010 and May of this year, according to the FBI.

Anyone with information about any of the crimes is asked to contact the FBI at (858) 565-1255.

-City News Service


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