FBI Searching for "Hoodie Bandit"

The FBI and police in Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa are asking for the public's help in identifying the "Hoodie Bandit," who robbed three bank branches inside North Bay supermarkets in February.

The suspect got his nickname by wearing a hooded sweatshirt during the robberies, FBI spokeswoman Julianne Sohn said.

One of the crimes occurred at about 10:10 a.m. on Feb. 1 at a Chase Bank branch in a Raley's store at 1407 Fulton Road in Santa Rosa.

After that robbery, the suspect was seen getting into a 1990s Jeep Wrangler with faded red paint and a black top, Sohn said.

On Valentine's Day, the suspect robbed a US Bank branch inside a Safeway store at 6340 Commerce Blvd. in Rohnert Park at about 10:30 a.m.

Later that morning, around 11:15 a.m., he hit another US Bank branch at a Safeway at 2300 Mendocino Ave. in Santa Rosa, Sohn said.

The FBI has released a "Wanted" poster that contains a clear image of the "Hoodie Bandit" that was captured during the Feb. 14 robbery in the Santa Rosa Safeway store, Sohn said.

The "Hoodie Bandit" is described as a white or Hispanic man 25 to 30 years old, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall and 175 to 200 pounds. He wore a gray sweatshirt and black baseball cap and might have a black goatee, Sohn said.

Sohn said this morning that the FBI is looking into other possible bank robberies by the "Hoodie Bandit," but that so far he has only been tied to the Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park robberies based on bank surveillance videos.

Anyone with information about the "Hoodie Bandit" is asked to call (415) 553-7400. The line is available 24 hours a day and all calls are confidential, according to the FBI.

-Bay City News