Suspect in 12 bank robberies arrested

A serial bank robbery suspect the FBI dubbed the “Shaky Bandit” is behind bars.

Brandon Venditti, 22, of Weston, was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday following a reported bank robbery in Collier County.

Venditti is believed to be the “Shaky Bandit,” agents said.

Witnesses have said he wears a variety of costumes and his hands tremble during the robberies so that’s how he got his nickname.

Collier County Sheriff ’s deputies, Florida Highway Patrol troopers, and FBI agents followed a car across Alligator Alley after it was identified as a possible getaway car used in the latest robbery.

The car would not stop and eventually crashed around mile marker 91. Venditti surrendered. Another person in the car was also arrested. No name was immediately available.

There were no injuries to Venditti, law enforcement or the public and there were no shots fired during the pursuit, the FBI said.

Venditti is expected to make his first appearance in federal court in Fort Myers today. He is facing charges that include bank robbery.

With robberies in Palm City and Port St. Lucie on Monday, the FBI says the Shaky Bandit’s tally is up to 12 banks.

As with the past holdups, there were no injuries in Monday’s holdups. The FBI declines to disclose how much money the serial bank robber has stolen.

The suspect has appeared before tellers while wearing a surgeon’s lightblue scrubs, a flannel shirt and camouflage cap, a construction worker’s orange vest and sometimes only sports a baseball hat to shield his face.

That was his attire Monday, too: A denim-type baseball hat and collared, long-sleeve shirt, according to photographs released by authorities.

Previous banks held up by the same person, according to the FBI, include:

Chase, 2425 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter. Jupiter police say he left without getting any cash, and may have been driven away in a silver Mazda3 hatchback. And at 4:05 p.m., he is accused of holding up another Chase branch, at 328 E. Northlake Blvd. in Lake Park. The Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office said he had “sunken in eyes.”

Chase, 1201 SE Port St. Lucie Blvd., Port St. Lucie. Less than 45 minutes later, he robbed a Wells Fargo at 2801 SW High Meadows Ave. in Palm City.

Oct. 10, 2:45 p.m., Oct. 16, 4:54 p.m.,