A federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 25-count indictment yesterday against a man dubbed "The Hothead Bandit" by the FBI's over-worked bandit-naming department.
Timothy John Kestle, 55, of Litchfield Park, has been charged with 13 counts of armed bank robbery and 12 counts of possessing or using a firearm during the commission of the bank robberies stemming from a series of robberies, which took place from August 2009 to April of 2010.
According to the federal fuzz, Kestle got the dopey moniker of "Hothead
Bandit" because during several of the robberies he wore a hat with
orange and red flames outlining the bill.
Kestle got busted on June 7, after Peoria police officer
recognized a vehicle -- similar to one used as a getaway car during a
bank
robbery in April -- parked suspiciously outside of a bank.
The vehicle, a white Dodge Dakota, was featured
in previous police bulletins along with a photo of the suspect.
When
the officer stopped the truck, he recognized the driver, Kestle, from
the bulletin and placed him under arrest.
After Kestle got busted, Peoria police spokesman Mike Tellef told New
Times "The Hothead" was responsible for at least three Valley
robberies beginning in January.
Since then, the FBI's been able to link Kestle to 13 bank robberies in
Glendale, Phoenix, Peoria, Chandler, Litchfield Park, and Goodyear.
"I want to thank the Peoria Police Department, in particular the
sergeant who spotted the defendant waiting outside a local bank," U.S.
Attorney Dennis Burke said in a statement. "The FBI's Violent Crimes/
Bank Robbery Task Force has been extremely successful in bringing bank
robbers to justice."
If convicted, Kestle could be lookin' at a lot of time behind bars --
the maximum sentence for armed bank robbery is 25 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.
