Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Information about the ‘Tie-Dyed Bandit’ could earn you $10,000
FORT LAUDERDALE – The FBI is offering up to $10,000 for tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of a serial bank robber who is considered armed and dangerous.
The agency has dubbed him the “Tie-Dyed Bandit.” Surveillance video showed evidence of an exploding dye pack and its red mist seen trailing his suspected getaway car after one of the robberies.
He has committed at least four bank robberies in Fort Lauderdale since April, agents said.
The first holdup happened about 7:51 a.m. April 23 at a BB&T branch at 6400 N. Federal Hwy. The FBI believes he may have had an accomplice.
The second armed robbery was May 14 in a Bank United at 1730 E. Sunrise Blvd.
The thief flashed a handgun during the third robbery at 9:06 a.m. on June 6 at a Tropical Federal Credit Union, 5900 N. Federal Hwy., but agents are not sure if he got away with any money.
About 9:30 a.m. the next day, he revisited the same Bank United branch he held up three weeks earlier and robbed it again, the FBI said.
Surveillance video and pictures showed the suspected getaway car was a tan-colored 2003 to 2008, 4-door Toyota Corolla. It has scuff marks and scratch damage to the right rear bumper.
The car likely has red stains in the interior from an exploding dye pack because surveillance video shows red mist pouring from the car’s passenger side window.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the FBI and the FBI’s South Florida Violent Crime Task Force are working together on the investigation.
In a case that is so far unrelated to the Tie-Dyed Bandit, the FBI is also looking for the man who robbed a BB&T bank branch at 2434 Hollywood Blvd., in Hollywood, just before 11 a.m. Tuesday.
He entered the bank and demanded an undisclosed amount of money from a bank employee before walking out. Customers were in the bank at the time of the robbery but no one was injured, the FBI said.
Agents are asking anyone with information about any of these robberies to call the FBI at 754-703-2000. Anonymous tips can be given to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 and online at browardcrimestoppers.org.