surveillance video shows the geezer bandit walking into a bank in rancho santa fe, california. after heading to the counter, he hands the teller a note, and this time he also uses a gun. our theory, and i think it s a very strong one, is he wasn t getting a lot of money on the first three robberies. he realized that if he carried a firearm and threatened to use that firearm, and he was correct in doing so, that he would get more money in the takes. however, what he may or may not realize is that as soon as he took that gun inside the bank, he just increased his penalties under the federal sentencing guidelines and the state sentencing guidelines. but it s not just the threat of the gun that makes the geezer bandit so menacing. take a look at this surveillance
we see him go in. we don t believe he had a gun during the first robbery. he did have a demand note. and he gets a small take and he leaves the bank. he repeats this m.o. for his next two robberies, only using threatening notes and language. but by robbery number 4, the geezer bandit decides he needs to step up his game. october 26th, 2009. surveillance video shows the geezer bandit walking into a bank in rancho santa fe, california. after heading to the counter, he hands the teller a note, and this time he also uses a gun. our theory, and i think it s a very strong one, is he wasn t getting a lot of money on the first three robberies. he realized that if he carried a firearm and threatened to use that firearm, and he was correct in doing so, that he would get more money in the takes. however, what he may or may not realize is that as soon as he took that gun inside the bank,
with the use of these surveillance videos and images, the fbi hopes all the exposure and even his nickname will make it easier for the public to identify him, and ultimately easier for them to catch him. we like to name them as quickly as possible because it gets it in the public subconscious that oh, that s the drywall bandit or that s the geezer bandit or that s whatever. and it helps them remember so that ideally they are able to at some point generate some leads that will help us solve the case. the fbi is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the geezer bandit s arrest and conviction. after sitting for an interview, they asked us to help get some information out to the public. we can t catch him without the public s assistance. if someone is inside a bank or sees someone like this outside the bank, they need to call 911. they need to dial 911 immediately. if someone has a lead after the
bodich, that may be the secret to his success. he is not coming in looking like a thug. some people have good situational awareness. some people don t. some people go in and they re in their own world. they re not paying attention, they re on the cell phone, whatever they re doing. the geezer walks in, most people don t give him a second look because he appears to be very nonthreatening. he appears to be an older gentleman who is there to do his banking. he is quiet. he is surgical. he approaches one teller. he is in, he is out, and he moves on. those are the difficult ones to catch. there is also a possible twist speculation that the geezer bandit may not actually be a geezer at all, but a young man or woman wearing a mask. that is not uncommon for bank robbers at all. many of them wear masks. we ve had people dress up like women. they re actually men. and we ve had people wear halloween masks, et cetera.
though he may look like a harmless grandpa, this sinister senior is currently one of the fbi s most sought after fugitives. he is known as the geezer bandit. the geezer bandit is a white male. his appearance makes him appear to be between 60 and 70 years old, anywhere from 5 10 to about 6 1 . we re getting about 180 to 190 pounds. he comes in as a fairly benign looking older man. he is seemingly dressed fairly nice, oftentimes wears a blue blazer, sometimes baseball caps. based on his actions, witness accounts and victim teller accounts and surveillance footage, we believe he is left-handed. since his first robbery the geezer bandit hit a total of 13 banks primarily in or around san diego, california, and all of them have been caught on surveillance camera. first robbery was standard.