Jailed man ‘ Hefty Heister,’ feds say
An alleged serial bank bandit arrested over the weekend in Lake County has been identified by federal authorities as the so- called “Hefty Heister” — who is suspected of pulling off at least eight robberies since December.
Wesley Allen Krohn, a 31- year- old Antioch resident, was taken into custody Sunday morning on Highway 20 along the shores of Clear Lake after leading Lake County sheriff’s deputies on a high- speed chase. Deputies caught him when they deployed a spike strip to pop his tires and disable the vehicle he was using to try to make a getaway, said Lt. Steve Brooks, a sheriff’s office spokesman.
Krohn had reportedly said he would “shoot it out” with police if they ever tried to arrest him, and was seen on a video captured by a dashboard camera on one of the sheriff’s cruisers tossing a handgun from his waistband just before his arrest.
In January, the FBI released images of the “Hefty Heister,” saying that, in at least eight different instances, he had walked into banks, showed the teller a note demanding money and threatened to use a weapon. In at least one of the robberies, he pointed a handgun at a teller, officials said.
From early December to mid- January, he allegedly hit three US Banks: one on Jan. 9 inside a Raley’s store in Suisun City, another Jan. 14 inside a Brentwood Safeway, and one Jan. 19 inside a Safeway in Lodi ( San Joaquin County).
During that time, he also allegedly robbed two Tri Counties Banks, both inside Raley’s stores, on Dec. 21 in Brentwood and on Jan. 19 in Elk Grove ( Sacramento County).
He also is said to have stuck up an Exchange Bank in Rohnert Park on Dec. 3, a Wells Fargo inside a Safeway in Pleasant Hill on Dec. 22, and a Bank of Rio Vista in Walnut Grove ( Sacramento County) on New Year’s Eve.
In each of the robberies, Krohn allegedly changed his appearance, sometimes wearing a fake beard, a Giants cap or a fedora.
Krohn was taken to Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, where he was booked on a federal no- bail warrant as well as suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, carrying a concealed weapon, evading a peace officer and committing a felony with a firearm, among other lesser charges, Brooks said.