In the earlier holdup, the robber held up a Chase Bank branch in the Pacesetter Shopping Center on Route 202 in Pomona on Jan. 24 while carrying a box that he claimed contained explosives, the FBI said.
The FBI said he “specifically demanded cash secured in the back of the bank,” then “exited through the back with an undisclosed amount of money.”
The same robber made off with what authorities told Daily Voice was $32,000 from an Oritani Bank branch on Kinderkamack Road in Park Ridge on April 17 after claiming to have a bomb in what looked like a pizza delivery bag.
“He ordered the bank’s tellers to go into the vault area and instructed one teller to put money in the bag,” the FBI said Thursday.
He then fled in a vehicle that witnesses said might have been a white minivan.
The robber wore a blue vest with a hood over his head, a partial ski mask, red face paint and dark clothing in the Jan. 24 Pomona robbery, the FBI said.
In the Park Ridge holdup, he wore a bicycle helmet with a baseball cap underneath, a gray sweatshirt, black gloves and glasses, the bureau said in a release Thursday.
He was also carrying a blue bag that he claimed contained a bomb, the release says.
The disguised bandit may have committed other bank robberies, as well, authorities said.
Description:
- 5'6" to 5'8"
- Male
- White
- Medium build
- Brown beard, glasses, black gloves, bicycle helmet with a baseball cap underneath;
- Claimed to have an explosive device.
Anyone who knows, recognizes or sees the suspect should consider him armed and dangerous, the FBI said.
The bureau offered a $10,000 reward, asking tipsters to contact their local FBI field office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
You can also submit a tip: tips.fbi.gov.
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ALSO SEE: As coincidences go, it's odd: A bogus 911 "active shooter" call that brought a SWAT team and swarms of other responders to a Park Ridge home had nothing to do with a bank robbery across town that occurred at almost the same time, authorities said.
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