FBI Ups Reward for “AK-47 Bandit” to $100,000

The serial bank robber has been linked to heists in Chino, Vacaville, Sacramento, Washington state and Idaho, according to federal authorities.

Tips leading to the arrest of the so-called "AK-47 Bandit," wanted in a slew of bank heists across the western United States, could result in a $100,000 reward, the FBI announced Wednesday.

"This guy, he’s a time bomb about to go off again," Bill Lewis, head of the FBI office in Los Angeles, said in a news conference.

Prior to Wednesday, a $50,000 reward had been posted for the arrest of the prolific bank robber suspected of shooting a Chino police officer during a heist in February 2012, before hitting up banks in Northern California, Idaho and Washington. He was dubbed the "AK-47 Bandit" because of his penchant to carry the assault rifle into his targeted banks.

PHOTOS: "AK-47 Bandit" Caught on Camera

Investigators said he has told victims that he used to be an officer, and surveillance video shows him usually wearing tactical gear, a full-face ski mask and blue ballistic vest or green mesh vest marked "Sheriff."

FBI Wanted Poster

After robbing the California Bank & Trust in Chino early last year, the man is believed to have robbed a Vacaville Bank of the West on March 12, 2012. He may have also tried to rob a bank in Sacramento a few days earlier.

Similar robberies were carried out in Washington on July 6, 2012, and Idaho on Nov. 7, 2012.

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The “AK-47 Bandit” is described as a white male, 25 to 40 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call these phone numbers:

  • Chino Police Department: 909-628-1234
  • Los Angeles Field Office: 310-477-6565
  • Sacramento Field Office: 916-481-9110
  • Sacramento Police Department: 916-732-0100
  • San Francisco Field Office: 415-553-7400
  • Vacaville Police Department: 707-449-5200
Copyright AP - Associated Press
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