FBI Links Maple Grove Bank Robber to Four Other Area Holdups

On July 20 a well-dressed man, about six feet tall, with a possibly fake greying goatee and thick facial makeup, , pointed a semi-automatic pistol at the teller and left in a white, two-door car with a pile of cash.

Now the FBI is saying they believe the suspect to be a serial bank robber who has hit five area grocery store banks since March - at the Wells Fargo in Rainbow Foods in Maple Grove.

Along with facial hair and makeup, the bureau believes he's donned a rubber nose, spectacles and various hats to disguise himself during his holdups.

“He approaches the tellers, he displays a black pistol, he often throws a bag across the counter and demands the funds be put inside,” said Gregory Boosalis, an FBI spokesman.

Boosalis said that the FBI is working with local police departments to track down the suspect.

“He tends to be well-dressed and wearing a fedora or some other type of hat,” Boosalis said. “He’ll dress as himself with either some type of fake nose or fake facial hair or glasses, and he’ll wear a suit coat or sweater—he looks like a business man.”

Boosalis said the FBI is on the lookout for the man to strike again.

"Periodically we do have serial type bank robbers, and once they make a successful robbery, one or two, they do go on," he said.

All five robberies have taken place at lunchtime and, after the first late-March holdup, they’ve all come on Fridays.

Here’s the timeline of the suspect’s bank robbery spree, according to the FBI:

• Monday, March 26, 11:20 a.m., , 16401 County Rd 30, Maple Grove.
• Friday, April 13, the U.S. Bank inside Byerly’s, 3777 Park Center Boulevard, St. Louis Park.
• Friday, April 27, 11:45 a.m., , 10200 6th Ave N, Plymouth.
• Friday, July 20, 11:45 a.m., , 256 57th Ave. NE, Fridley.
• Friday, Aug. 3, just after noon, the Guaranty Bank inside Rainbow Foods, 1540 New Brighton Blvd., Minneapolis.

Here’s the about the Maple Grove robbery:

At approximately 11:20 a.m., March 26, a bank robbery took place at the Wells Fargo Bank branch located at 16401 County Road 30 in Maple Grove, according to a news release from the FBI.

The suspect is described by the FBI as "having tan or olive skin, entered the bank and displayed a handgun while approaching the teller counter." He asked a teller for cash. "After receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, the robber fled from the bank"

He is approximately 6-feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He has dark eyes and hair and was wearing a Fedora hat and dark clothing, according to the FBI news release.

An FBI official confirmed the robbery Wells Fargo Bank branch is located in on County Road 30 in Maple Grove.

Officials ask anyone with information about the incident to contact the FBI at 763-569-6100 or the Maple Grove Police Department at 763-494-6100.

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