FBI offers $5K reward for bike bandit
Man a suspect in three bank heists
The bike-riding bank robber has apparently struck again — this time targeting a location near Cottonwood Mall, farther north from the previous heists he’s suspected of carrying out.
Now, the FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect, who is believed to have robbed three Albuquerque-area banks.
According to the FBI, the most recent robbery happened at the Bank of the West branch at 10050 Coors Bypass NW around 2 p.m. Tuesday. The suspect — described as a Hispanic or white man in his 50s or 60s, about 5 feet 10, with a slender build and unshaven face — went into the bank and “presented a demand note to a teller, who handed over an undisclosed amount of money to the man,” the FBI said in a news release.
The robber was wearing a bluehooded sweatshirt with “2011 Knights” printed on the back as well as sunglasses, a dark baseball cap with a logo on the front and blue jeans.
“The suspect fled on a white bicycle,” the FBI said.
The bureau said the man is suspected of robbing two other area banks in recent months.
On July 26, a white male said to be in his 40s or 50s wearing sunglasses and a brown or green University of New Mexico Lobos baseball cap robbed a Wells Fargo branch at 1406 Bridge SW, near Sunset, around 3 p.m.
And, just before 4 p.m. on Aug. 15, a white male described as in his 50s with eyeglasses and a green baseball cap with a white front robbed a Bank of the West branch at 5228 Central SW, near Old Coors. His demand note “indicated he had a suspicious device,” the FBI said at the time. The item left behind was determined not to be dangerous.
“In each of the robberies, the suspect left on a bicycle,” the FBI said on Tuesday.
Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call the FBI at (505) 889-1300, or Albuquerque Metro Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at (505) 843-STOP.
Tips can also be submitted online at tips.fbi.gov.