FBI has issued an APB on the Pink Lady Bandit, a mysterious serial bank robber who has hit four banks along the east coast.
The bulletin by FBI in Charlotte, North Carolina appeared on Twitter on July 26 and states the FBI will pay a reward up to $10,000 for information that could lead to the arrest of what FBI believes is a serial bank robber, that they have dubbed the Pink Lady Bandit, because she was carrying a signature pink handbag on at least two of the occasions.
The ABP reads: "The Suspect is described as a white or Hispanic woman, roughly 5'2" and weighing around 130 lbs. In two of the robberies, she wore yoga pants, tank tops, a navy baseball hat, and carried a pink handbag."
The Pink Lady Bandit's first robbery took place at Orrstown Bank in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on July 20. The second, on July 23, was committed at the M&T Bank branch in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. On July 24, she crossed the state line again and robbed the Southern Bank in Ayden, North Carolina. The latest, the fourth, on July 26, she hit BB&T bank in Hamlet, roughly a three-hour drive from Ayden, also North Carolina.
Her modus operandi is always the same. She just steps up to the counter and shows a note. It's not exactly clear what it says on the note, but it was sufficient in at least four instances to prompt the teller to hand over the money.
Anyone with information or tips, please contact your local FBI Office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or at tips.fbi.gov.
Winner of $19 Million Lottery Ends up in Jail
Winning the lottery is lucky, but can have an ominous portent sometimes.In June 2018, a California man who had won $19 million SuperLotto jackpot in 1998 was sentenced to nearly three years in jail for serial bank robberies.
James Allen Hayes, the 55-year-old once lucky lottery winner, seems to have fallen on tough times. He admitted in a plea agreement that he committed four bank robberies in 2017, The Epoch Times reported.
A copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Signal indicated investigators believe Hayes stole a total of $39,424.
Hayes admitted robbing the Union Bank in Carpinteria in May, the Wells Fargo Bank on Lyons Avenue in Newhall in June, the Logix Federal Credit Union on McBean Parkway in Valencia in July and the Coast Hills Credit Union in Santa Maria in September.
Authorities had given Hayes the moniker “Seasoned Bandit” due to his gray/white hair.
Hayes followed the same robbery plan each time. He slips a note to the teller demanding cash and threatening to shoot them if they don’t comply, reported the Los Angeles Daily News.
Hayes is believed to have committed 10 heists in total, but the plea deal only included 4 of them.
As part of the agreement, Hayes agreed to forfeit a light-colored Chrysler PT Cruiser, which was used in some of the robberies.