You can say two things the West Peachtree Street bank robber: He's a creature of habit and not particularly greedy.
The SunTrust Bank at 760 West Peachtree Street was robbed on Monday. Police believe it was the same person that knocked over that same branch two other times the previous two months.
That's right — three times in all.
And each time the robber asked for and received the modest haul of $1,000.
"It's pretty unusual," said Atlanta Police Sgt. Tommie Collins, commander of the commercial robbery division. "We've had a number of robberies by the same person at different banks but, from my recollection, we haven't had an individual hit the same place three times. The most I've ever seen is two."
The scenario has been the same each time the bank was robbed on Monday, June 10 and May 5. The suspect — a black male, 5-foot-7, 145 to 150 pounds, 45-to-50-years-old — enters the banks in the early morning hours, hands the teller a note that says he has a weapon and wants $1,000, then leaves on foot.
"He's very specific," Collins said. "The note is always prewritten and says the same thing."
Because the holdups occurred at the beginning of each of the last three months, Collins believes the suspect is "probably living off of it."
Police have a few leads. A caller who saw surveillance video on WSB-TV's report Tuesday night said they thought they knew him and provided a name. "But nothing is coming up on that name in our system," Collins said.
Also, police have recovered two discarded hats and a discarded shirt from the last two robberies. Those have been sent to a crime lab for DNA analysis. But Collins said it could be six months before those results are provided and that's only if the suspect has been in the prison system.
As for the relatively small heists, Collins said their suspect could be underestimating the gravity of their crimes.
"A lot of times [criminals] figure if it's not over a certain amount it's not as serious," Collins said. "But it doesn't matter if it's a quarter, bank robbery is bank robbery."
Police ask any one with any information regarding these crimes to please contact Crimestoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477.
