He parks somewhere out of the range of cameras, so no one will record his getaway car. He approaches his quarry on foot. He alters his appearance so would-be victims won’t recognize him.
That list of victims is growing, too. He’s a serial bank robber, and the government guys are hot to get him before someone gets hurt. Or worse.
In seven months, an unidentified armed man has hit six banks in the metro area. Call him the Cobb County bandit. Four of his targets are located in that county, and the other two are close to Cobb.
"We have no doubt he'll hit again," said Special Agent Stephen Emmett, a spokesman for the Atlanta office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "It's just a matter of time."
The robber hits banks as if he’s running out of time. Consider:
» Feb. 4: The Cobb County bandit robs Fifth Third Bank at 4209 Roswell Road in Marietta. He owed someone money, the robber told a terrified teller; he was sorry, but he had to have the money.
» April 1: Regions Bank at 2486 Roswell Road was engaged in business as usual when a man robbed it. In one hand he held a black messenger bag; the other grasped a black, semiautomatic handgun.
» May 25: A man entered BB&T at 4370 Roswell Road in Marietta. He had the procedure down pat: a gun, a demand, a quick and quiet getaway.
» July 13: A man waiting in line at PNC Bank at 1111 Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta apparently got tired of waiting his turn. He cut in front of a customer, confronted the teller and announced he was robbing the place.
» Aug. 22: Lunch hour was waning at the Fidelity Bank, 2401 Windy Ridge Parkway, Atlanta, when a man aimed a handgun at the bank teller. His intent was clear.
» Sept. 8: A man with a dark briefcase entered the Renasant Bank, 11655 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek. He was armed and got what he wanted.
Trail Of Trauma
His total take in these bank jobs? The FBI routinely declines to say how lucrative robbing banks can be.
“It’s not about the amount” of money he’s taken, said Tony Smith, a supervisory special agent in the FBI’s Atlanta office who is the lead agent in tracking the robber. “It’s about the violence.”
The bandit has never used his weapon, but no matter: By pointing his firearm at bank employees, the robber has left a trail of victims, each traumatized by his or her close look at the business end of a handgun.
"Being in an armed robbery is an emotional battle that (tellers) have had to deal with," Smith said.
Blends In Well
A few facts about the bandit: He’s white, about 6 feet tall, maybe in his late 40s or early 50s. Employees at one bank thought he may be as young as mid-30s. He speaks in a soft voice.
His attire is varied — sometimes jeans or khakis, other times a dress shirt and tie. Sometimes a cap or a hat, oftentimes sunglasses.
In one job, the robber entered a bank and told an employee he was looking for a notary.
“That caught my attention,” said Smith, who heads the Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offenders task force, or AMMO. It comprises more than a dozen area officers who cooperate on investigating major crimes.
Asking for a notary, said Smith, was an unusual ruse for an armed man. It was something a white-collar type might say.
A constant: facial hair. In every job, the Cobb bandit has had a beard. He’s recently trimmed it, Smith noted.
“He’s blending in very well,” Smith said. “Until he pulls his handgun out, he’s very unassuming.”
When that gun emerges, so does a different persona. “He once told a teller, ‘If I see any cops, I’ll empty this magazine.’”
Bandit Isn’t Finished
The Cobb bandit is hardly unique; people have been robbing banks as long as others have been securing cash in safes.
In 2015, according to the FBI, more than 4,800 robbers committed nearly 4,100 heists of banks, credit unions and armored cars. That’s a considerable dip from a decade earlier, when the agency compiled data from more than 6,700 robberies.
Meantime, agents here are convinced the Cobb bandit isn’t finished.
The rate of bank robberies normally increases with the approach of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and other celebrations. It’s when people need money. Why would the Cobb bandit be any different?
“He feels confident” in the Cobb area, Smith said. “People go with what works.”
Not Just Georgia?
That’s not to say that the Cobb robber may not have other nicknames. Agents aren’t sure if he’s limited his robberies to this area, or if he’s taken his dark briefcase and handgun on the road. In Tennessee, he may be known as the Tri-Cities bandit; in North Carolina, tellers may be calling him the Research Triangle bandit.
“There may be more robberies attributable to him,” said Emmett.
Nor is he the only serial bank robber the FBI is chasing. On its website, the federal agency lists an array of bank robbers at-large. When they commit three or more jobs, the FBI usually calls them serial robbers.
He is not the most prolific bandit, either: That distinction goes to Carl Gugasian, aka the "Friday Night Bank Robber." He robbed more than 50 banks in a three-decade career that ended with his arrest in 2002.
A similar fate awaits the Cobb gunman, Smith thinks.
“We eventually get them,” said Smith, an agent for more than 20 years. “I don’t find (the investigation) frustrating. It’s just part of the challenge.”
“Cops and robbers,” Emmett added.
PNC, the fourth bank hit, has offered a $10,000 reward for the Cobb bandit’s arrest and conviction.
And he’s amassing some potentially heavy prison time: two charges at each bank — robbery, plus the use of a firearm. Each charge could carry a sentence of 10 years or more.
If he’s convicted, the bandit could live out his life behind bars.
About the Author
