The FBI is seeking the “Sticky Note Bandit. (Photos from the FBI)
Be on the lookout for the “Sticky Note Bandit” — a Black man dressed as a woman in a wig and carrying a black purse, accused of entering several Houston area banks and slipping tellers a note demanding cash, the FBI says.
Authorities put out a plea on Facebook for help to find him, and Crime Stoppers of Houston said it’s offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the bank robber, officials said.
“The ‘Sticky Note Bandit’ has robbed not once, not twice, but three times. There’s no reason to think that he won’t rob again,” said Connor Hagan, an FBI spokesman, ABC Lafayette, Louisiana, affiliate KATC reported. “If you’re looking at a map where these robberies occurred, a couple of them were in Houston, and one of them was in Harris County, so right then and there, you have three agencies that are involved just based on the territory where this individual is striking.”
Hagan says it’s not unusual to see a spree like this.
“Three in 10 days is not all that unusual. There have certainly been cases in the past where individuals who may be on parole or probation from prison for previously robbing banks go and realize, ‘Hey, I’ve only got a limited number of time’ after robbing the first bank, and so they hit other banks.”
The first robbery occurred at 1:30 p.m. on July 5 at the Hancock Whitney Bank at 2979 North Loop West in Houston.
The robber entered the bank dressed as a woman and handed the teller a sticky note demanding cash, officials said. The robber left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.
The second robbery occurred at 12:09 p.m. on July 11 at the Wells Fargo Bank at 13106 Woodforest Boulevard in east Houston.
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In this case, he entered the bank dressed as a woman and waited in line before handing the teller a note.
The teller walked away from the counter and hid in a locked room for safety. The robber briefly remained in the bank lobby, then took off without money.
The third robbery occurred at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Bank at 6255 Bissonnet Street in southwest Houston.
In this incident, the robber demanded cash on a note and left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.
He’s described as Black, about 5-foot-8, with a thin to medium build. During the last two robberies, he wore a black wig, black sunglasses, a blue medical mask, a green women’s style sweater, black women’s ballet flats, and carried a black purse.
Nobody’s been hurt in the robberies, but Hagan says the potential exists.
“These individuals are victimized and impacted when someone comes in and threatens their lives in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money,” he said.
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