ALLYN—
He walks in wearing a fake beard, but what he leaves behind is pure terror.Police need your help tracking down a fiend they say has robbed banks and espresso stands around Mason, Kitsap, and Clallam counties for the past eight months.
The fake beard bandit is so brash, he even robbed the same branch of Kitsap Bank in the small town of Allyn, three times since February.
"He's threatening to do harm, he threatens to take money from people," says Detective William Adam from the Mason County Sheriff's Office. "I think the unpredictability is something that causes our fear level to be heightened as well."
He robbed the bank for the first time on February 1st, but police say the second time on February 24th, he stuffed a bag full of money, than threatened a teller and forced her to walk out of the bank with him.
"The woman have all been terrified," says Detective Adam, "there's one bank teller that has been there all three times in Allyn, and she is terrified, and that's putting it very lightly."
After his third robbery at the bank on July 27th you can imagine why.
The bank had installed a buzzer system to keep the front door locked, but the fake beard bandit ripped the door open anyway, and walked in ready to intimidate.
"When he continues to repeat a crime, that puts the hair on the back of our necks to stand up and it's a big problem," says Detective Adam.
Detectives think his crime spree start December 21st with a bank robbery in Kingston.
They believe he followed that up with an espresso stand robbery in Port Angeles on January 19th, another in Shelton six days later, and one more in Silverdale, five days after that.
In each case he's worn a type of fake beard or goatee, along with a hat, and sweatshirt.
Police consider the man armed, dangerous, and desperate and think it may be someone who has debt problems, or even a gambling addiction.
"Maybe someone will recognize how this person moves, or how this person walks," says Det. Adam, "some other characteristic other than the face and the beards, and maybe they'll say, hey this looks somebody like I know."
Detectives say he's in his 40's, and between 5'10" and 6'2".
If you have any information on his identity, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Your calls are anonymous and you could be in line for a $1,000 reward if he's caught.
