Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Do you know this man? FBI website features Las Vegas bank robbers

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This man was noted as "Today's Featured Bank Robber" Monday night on the website. Authorities say he is wanted in the robbery of a US Bank at 9851 W. Charleston.

Beyond the Sun

He's known by the FBI as the "GQ bandit" — a suit-wearing man believed to be responsible for several bank robberies in the Las Vegas Valley.

The "GQ bandit," described as a man in his 30s or early 40s, is one of many bank robbers featured on a new FBI website — www.LasVegasBankRobbers.com — in hopes of eliciting information from the public to nab the criminals.

Joseph Dickey, spokesman for the FBI's Las Vegas office, said information from the public is crucial in solving many bank robberies.

"Metro Police's Crime Stoppers has been very, very successful in establishing new leads for us," he said. Crime Stoppers allows people to anonymously report tips about crimes to law enforcement.

The FBI's new website officially launched Monday, but it was created several months ago, modeled after similar successful sites in Baltimore and Los Angeles, Dickey said.

The site's homepage features a specific bank robber — for example, the "GQ bandit," who FBI officials believe robbed five banks in the Las Vegas Valley from last June through January of this year.

The site also includes a bank robbery gallery with surveillance images of the robbers, who are often clad in sunglasses and hats, along with a description and the date and place of the robbery.

A separate page shows images of alleged bank robbers who have been captured.

A rewards and tips page allows people to submit information about a bank robbery either anonymously or to submit their identification for possible reward money.

There have been 13 bank robberies in the valley so far this year, which is on track to be about average, Dickey said.

Bank robberies have remained relatively consistent in recent years with 67 in 2010, 70 in 2009 and 74 in 2008, he said.

In 2001, bank robberies in the Las Vegas Valley peaked at 181, he said, but there have been fewer than 100 per year since 2006.

"One of the biggest factors is banks have installed many bandit barriers," such as glass partitions in front of tellers, Dickey said of the decrease. Many banks also have hired their own security teams, he added.

Dickey declined to say how many bank robbers the FBI catches each year, but noted the arrest rate in Las Vegas is "higher than the national average."

"We hope this website will help augment the great work Metro and our other law enforcement partners do to catch these robbers through programs like Crime Stoppers," said Special Agent Kevin Favreau, who is in charge of the Las Vegas Division of the FBI, in a statement.

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