FBI Launches Nationwide Search For ‘Dollar Store Grandpa Bandit’

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Photo Source: WBAY / FBI

The FBI is seeking the public’s help with obtaining identifying information regarding an unknown male who may be involved in a series of armed robberies of “dollar”-type retail stores. There have been at least nine robberies, since December of 2016, in a cross-country spree that spreads from New York to Idaho and points in between.

In each incident, the suspect enters the establishment around closing time, displays a weapon, directs employees to remove cash from the registers and store safe, forces employees into the back rooms, and then takes their cell phones to prevent them from calling the police. The employees’ phones are then discarded by the suspect some distance away, usually in a neighboring town. In addition to displaying a handgun, the suspect has also displayed a stun-gun type weapon and pepper spray.

It is possible the suspect has first-hand knowledge of the operations of “Dollar Tree” stores, which account for the majority of the robberies. The suspect struck, in succession, “Dollar Tree” stores in Wappinger Falls and North Greenbush, New York; Madison Township, Michigan; Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Lincoln, Nebraska (a “Dollar General” store); American Fork, Utah; Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania (a “Dollar General” store).

The suspect in these cases has been described as a White male, 50 to 65 years of age, approximately 5’10” to 6’0” tall, weighing about 200 pounds. He has white or light-colored neatly-trimmed hair, worn short, and has a mustache. The suspect is believed to be driving a newer model, silver or gray Dodge Charger with a rear spoiler and no front license plate.

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