MANHATTAN — A serial bank robber tied to a pair of robberies in late August and early September struck again twice this week, knocking over one bank in Midtown and trying to rob another in Chelsea, according to police.
The serial robber, who police identified by his “crooked and discolored teeth,” is now tied to four bank robberies in Manhattan in the past two weeks, according to police reports.
In the first attempt this week, the suspect strolled into a Chase Bank at 245 Seventh Ave. in Chelsea just after 5 p.m., passed a teller a threatening note and said he was carrying a gun, police said. When the teller refused his demand, the robber fled empty-handed, according to the report.
The bandit struck again the next day, walking into a Santander Bank at 1290 Sixth Ave. at 51st Street, police said. The suspect told the teller he was carrying a gun and threatened to shoot everyone in the bank if his demands weren’t met. The teller complied, forking over an unspecified amount of cash, according to a police report.
Police said the suspect carried out two earlier robberies. He hit a Santander Bank at 1350 Broadway, between West 35th and 36th streets, around 2:07 p.m. on Aug. 24, where he told tellers he had a gun and made off with cash, according to a police report.
In the other robbery, the suspect went into a Santander Bank at 864 Eighth Ave. on Sept. 1 and made off with cash after he jabbed a hard object into a security guard’s back mimicking a gun, police said.
Police described the suspect as a 5-foot-7 man in his late 40s or early 50s, with a gray beard and crooked, discolored teeth.
He was last seen wearing a bright orange T-shirt, blue jeans and a gray baseball cap with “NY” on the lid, the NYPD said.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips on the website.
