Another metro-area bank was robbed today, Dec. 20, and the FBI says the suspect is none other than the "Man in Black." The serial bank robber is suspected in 11 other metro-area bank robberies in the last two months, including bank robberies in Prior Lake and Shakopee.
The suspect description in today's robbery is similar to the 11 others. He was wearing a black ski mask, black gloves, blue jeans, a grey winter hat and a khaki jacket. He was described as a white man in his mid-30s, approximately 6 feet tall with a medium build. He also reportedly brandished a small, black handgun.
According to the FBI, the man entered Franklin Bank at 1527 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, at 1:45 p.m. and approached the teller with a handgun. He demanded money, and after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, he fled from the bank.
The man got the nickname "Man in Black" because in most of the early robberies he wore all black, including a black, zipped-up hooded sweatshirt. However, in the Dec. 5 robbery of a U.S. Bank branch in Hopkins, the man wore a tan jacket, and in Wednesday's robbery the suspect wore a brownish-green coat.
After the Dec. 7 robbery of Premier Bank in Bloomington, in which the man is a suspect, FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald Oswald, in conjunction with the Minnesota Bankers Association, announced they were offering a reward of $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the "Man in Black."
Nearly identical descriptions were provided in the robberies of Prior Lake State Bank on Oct. 22, Paragon Bank in Shakopee on Nov. 1, First National Bank of the Lakes in Richfield on Nov. 4, both the Richfield Bloomington Credit Union in Bloomington and Premier Bank of Albertville on Nov. 9, TCF Bank in Arden Hills, Bremer Bank in Minneapolis on Nov. 22, Central Bank in Minneapolis on Nov. 30, U.S. Bank in Hopkins on Dec. 5, Premier Bank in Bloomington on Dec. 7 and M&I Bank in St. Paul on Dec. 14.
In the Arden Hills robbery on Nov. 13, the man drove away in a cream-colored Mitsubishi Galant. In the Nov. 22 robbery of Bremer Bank in Minneapolis, the suspect drove off in a white 2005-2008 "crossover-style vehicle." No getaway car has been identified in today's robbery.
Anyone with information on the robberies is urged to contact the FBI at (612) 376-3200.