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'Hipster Bandit' goes mainstream as FBI seeks info from public
The "Hipster Bandit" donning a Stormtrooper t-shirt during his latest heist at a San Diego Wells Fargo.
Surveillance photo of the "Hipster Bandit" robbing a Wells Fargo in San Diego on Nov. 2, 2015.
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FBI
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Photo of the so-called "Hipster Bandit" during the latest bank robbery the FBI has tied him to on Jan. 9 at a Wells Fargo in San Diego.
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FBI
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Bonnie and Clyde, "Baby Face" Nelson and the "Cell Phone Bandit" are just a few on a long list of United States bank robbers — unfortunately, nobody told the "Hipster Bandit" robbing banks had already hit the mainstream.
The FBI is seeking the public's help to identify the bank robber they've dubbed the "Hipster Bandit," who they believe may have ties to Los Angeles.
In the most recent of a series of four bank robberies across San Diego County linked to the Hipster Bandit, the FBI said the man in his late 20s or early 30s presented a demand note for cash around 2 p.m. at a Wells Fargo. A press release from the FBI said that each of his robberies has incorporated that demand-note method, where he listed instructions for how the teller should act, and specifications for cash denominations.
According to the San Diego Tribune, the robber got his nickname from authorities because of his clothing and the dark glasses he wore on his first two heists.
Surveillance photos from his first heist on July 2, 2015 at a U.S. Bank inside a Fallbrook Albertsons show the Hipster Bandit in black pants, a white collar button-up with a black tie and dark, round sunglasses. For the next heist, he wore a dark red button-up — with his sleeves rolled up, of course — on Sept. 25, 2015.
His style gets a little more niche for his Nov. 2, 2015 robbery, as he wears what looks like a Sriracha t-shirt.
He continues the trend (and conforms to the Star Wars hype) for the robbery on Jan. 16. Is he actually a nerd bank robber between that Star Wars shirt and wispy facial hair?
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After each robbery the FBI has tied him to, the Hipster Bandit flees on foot — sorry, looks like he left his fixie/moped at home.
More descriptors the FBI has released for the wanted robber: He's between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches, he's skinny, he has brown hair and he has a tattoo on his left bicep.
Keep your eyes peeled at artisanal coffee shops, and jokes aside, if you have any information that would help bring the Hipster Bandit to justice, contact the FBI at (858) 320-1800 or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 540-8477.
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