UPPER EAST SIDE — A convicted robber dubbed the "Bicoastal Bank Bandit" was nabbed Wednesday after robbing a pair Upper East Side banks — making a total of seven banks he targeted citywide over the past two months, according to the NYPD.
Jon P. Waulters, 50, who had been out on parole for other unspecified robberies, tried sticking up an HSBC Bank at 1165 Third Ave., at 68th Street, on Wednesday at 4 p.m. by passing the teller a note demanding money and flashing a handgun, police said. The teller refused and he ran out empty-handed.
About 16 minutes later, he entered the Capital One Bank at 1295 Second Ave. a block away and handed the teller a note demanding money, the NYPD said. The teller gave him an unspecified amount of cash and he fled southbound on Second Avenue.
Police caught up with Waulters about half an hour later and arrested him at 4:49 p.m., authorities said. He was charged with seven counts of robbery.
The FBI told the Associated Press that Waulters was also wanted for a robbery he committed at a bank in Los Angeles, where he showed another teller a note with threats involving a gun and knife.
Waulters, who had been living at East Williamsburg's Peter Jay Sharp Center for Opportunity, served five years in prison from 2010 to 2015 for a pair of robberies, state Department of Corrections records showed. His parole ended in June 2016.
NYPD and Corrections officials did not have details about the previous robberies.
The 19th Precinct posted about Wednesday's arrest on its Twitter page:
Outstanding work by Officers Soto, Feeley & Guo capturing the Bicoastal Bank Bandit after he robbed 2 #UpperEastSide banks today! #UES pic.twitter.com/Z7kbPl6lMr
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) May 17, 2017
The other banks he robbed in Manhattan include:
► Santander Bank at 1052 Third Ave., near 62nd Street, on March 9 at 11:03 a.m. He fled with an undetermined amount of money, police said.
► Chase Bank at 450 Third Ave., at 31st Street, on March 13 at 1:10 p.m. He fled with an unspecified amount, police said.
► Chase Bank at 1003 Lexington Ave., at 72nd Street, on May 11 at 1:22 p.m. He fled with an undetermined amount of money, police said.
► Apple Bank at 91-31 Queens Boulevard on May 15 at 1:55 p.m. He told the teller, "This is a robbery," and then passed her a note, authorities said. The teller told him she didn't have any money and he responded that he had a gun, but the teller didn't comply. He left empty handed, police said.
► Chase Bank at 89-21 Queens Boulevard, the same day at 2 p.m. He slipped the teller a note saying, "This is a robbery, no joke, give me all your money," authorities said. The teller gave him cash and he fled, police said.
Police didn't have specific amounts of how much he took from the banks.
