A 54-year-man suspected in 14 bank and credit union robberies, including four in Oregon this year, was arrested near Indianapolis.
The FBI dubbed the robber the “double hat bandit” because of his penchant for wearing two hats, usually a beanie over a baseball cap, during the heists.
Shayne Carson was arrested Thursday by officers from the Indianapolis FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Whiteland Police Department in the parking lot of a motel in Whiteland, Indiana. He made his first appearance Friday in federal court in Indiana.
A complaint charges him in the Dec. 19, 2016, armed robbery of the U.S. Bank in West Valley City, Utah, and names him as a suspect in 13 other bank or credit union robberies in five states –Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado and Idaho.
All the places hit were inside grocery stores. The robberies occurred between Dec. 19 and July 22.
Carson is accused of hitting two banks on some days. In Oregon, he’s suspected of robbing banks in Milwaukie, Portland and Eugene, the FBI said.
He’s accused of entering the U.S. Bank inside a Safeway on Southeast King Road in Milwaukie at about 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 19. Wearing a baseball cap and a blue beanie, he quickly handed the teller a note that read, “Give me all your 10’s, 20’s. … I have a gun” and then pulled the note back, FBI Special Agent Jeremy Fowlke wrote in an affidavit. When the teller asked to see the note again, according to the agent, the robber said, “Want to see my gun?”
Carson is accused in the robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank inside another Safeway on Southeast Woodstock Boulevard in Portland four days later. The suspect handed the teller a note and lifted his shirt exposing what looked like a black handgun tucked in his waistband, the agent wrote.
Carson is accused of robbing the U.S. Bank inside the Albertsons grocery store on West 18th Avenue in Eugene at about 10:35 a.m. on Jan. 24.
He’s also accused of hitting the Wells Fargo on Southeast Woodstock again on June 23 in Portland.
The FBI found that surveillance images of the “double hat bandit” matched photos from Carson’s Facebook page, which showed him spending New Year’s along the Oregon Coast, the complaint said.
Salem police in January had arrested Carson on an allegation of driving under the influence of intoxicants. He was then sent to Texas to serve time there for parole violations.
He remained in custody until May 31, when he was released to a halfway house. On June 14, he walked away from the hallway house, the FBI complaint said.
He’s accused of robbing a bank in Salt Lake City seven days later.
