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It appears a thief the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s bandit-naming department has dubbed the “thou shalt not steal bandit” may have struck again — this time in Phoenix.
Phoenix police say the First Fidelity Bank branch near 32nd Street and Lincoln Drive in Phoenix was robbed this morning by a gun-wielding thief who already was in the building when employees showed up to open the bank.
The unknown robber tied up at least two employees and put them in a separate room before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash about 7 a.m. today.
The employees were released about 90 minutes later when another employee reported to work to find her colleagues tied up.
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Police haven’t said how the suspect entered the bank, although, there was reportedly a rectangular hole cut in the roof — which happens to be the exact M.O. of the “thou shalt not steal” bandit, who earned that name by breaking into a Christian book store in order to gain access to a Peoria bank in 2009.
In a different robbery, in October of 2010, the biblical bandit robbed a Johnson Bank in north Scottsdale. Police say he cut a hole in the bank’s roof to gain access to the inside of the building.
In addition to the aforementioned robberies, police suspect the “bandit” is responsible for two other similar heists: one at the National Bank of Arizona, at 7202 East Carefree Drive in Carefree on April 27, 2010, and a Chase Bank at 4819 North 83rd Avenue in Phoenix on December 11, 2011.
It’s unclear whether this morning’s robbery is the work of the “thou shalt not steal bandit” — Phoenix Sergeant Tommy Thompson didn’t immediately get back to us when asked about the similarities. However, today’s robbery certainly has all the familiar symptoms.
Check back for updates.
