Crime & Safety

FBI Offers $2,500 Reward for Serial Bank Robber as Search Continues

The "Cotton Ball Bandit" has been linked to seven bank robberies in Marin.

 

Marin’s serial bank robber now has a bounty held over his cotton-covered head. 

The FBI San Francisco Division announced Thursday they are offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the “Cotton Ball Bandit,” who has allegedly robbed seven banks in Marin since December 2012.

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The Central Marin Police Authority calls him the “Cotton Ball Bandit” because of the pom-pom ball atop the brown knit hat with earflaps he wears to each robbery.

The bank robber was last seen on Sept. 4 when he robbed the Redwood Credit Union in San Rafael’s Montecito Plaza Center.

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The other six robberies include:

The alleged robber walks into a bank and presents a teller with a note demanding money. He is described as a white male adult with “scruffy facial hair”, 40 to 45 years old, about 6’ with a medium build. He wears a brown knit beanie and has worn a black rain coat, black leather gloves and eye glasses.

The FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at 415-553-7400 in the San Francisco area.  All calls are confidential and tips can be left anonymously. Tips can also be submitted online at: https://tips.fbi.gov/ 

 


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