What to Know
- Police are searching for a well-dressed robber targeting banks up and down Manhattan
- Sources say uses DVD sleeves to pass threatening notes to the bank tellers
- He usually wears dark glasses, a black baseball cap, a black coat and black gloves
A serial bank robber is using a DVD sleeve to demand money from tellers up and down Manhattan, hitting seven banks in under two weeks, police say.
In the latest robbery at a midtown Capital One bank on Wednesday, the suspect, who police sources say may be armed, wrote a threatening robbery demand on the back of a sleeve of a "Good Times" DVD, then slipped it to a teller there.
Investigators say in previous robberies, the man used the DVD sleeve from the crime drama "The Wire" to demand money. But police fear he's getting bolder, as he robbed a Chase bank at 90th Street and Broadway on the same day as Capital One.
As the frequency of the robberies goes up, so does the potential for someone to get hurt, police say.
One man in midtown wondered whether the DVD sleeves were meant to be symbolic.
"If you relate to 'Good Times' back then, the family was struggling," said Charles Jackson of the Bronx. "No job, no food to eat."
Local
Surveillance cameras have captured plenty of pictures of the suspect, including one obtained by News 4 showing him enter a subway before stuffing clothing into a bag. Sources believe the usually well-dressed robber was ditching the black attire he wore inside the banks.
He's described as being in his 30s, about 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at nypdcrimestoppers.com.
