The FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force has dubbed a crew of bank robbers the Trick or Treat Bandits because surveillance footage shows one member holding a pillowcase like a goodie bag. And goodies they've collected. The feds suspect them of knocking off nine banks or the like from December ... More >>
It took nearly three years, but Joseph Nieto has finally been sentenced in Colorado for robberies he's admitted to committing with help from Christina Drummond, who played Bonnie to his Clyde -- at least according to the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, which bequeathed their nicknames. Detai ... More >>
Datha Nation, age 64, apparently gambled on short memories and employee turnover when she returned to a bank she'd allegedly robbed before -- by telling staffers she'd infect them with AIDS -- to stick it up again. And again. If so, she lost that bet. Longmont Police spokesman Commander Jeff Satur ... More >>
Big pics below.The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, renowned for the clever names it hangs on the likes of the $83 Bandit, the Shaggy Bandit and plenty of other scofflaws, is on the lookout for the guys who allegedly knocked over Wells Fargo, Key and Compass banks in recent weeks. Look ... More >>
Trent Hix.When members of the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force dubbed a local bank robber the JV Bandit, they had no idea how appropriate the nickname would turn out to be. Trent Hix, the man now accused of being the crook in question, may be 38-years old, but he reportedly lives with h ... More >>
Big pic below.Update: Shaun Harper, who allegedly robbed a bank in Golden on Saturday only to be nabbed after suspected loot literally fell out of his pocket in front of police, has been released from an area hospital; he had unspecified medical issues that were reportedly unrelated to his ar ... More >>
Large photo below.The phrase "getting caught red-handed" wasn't invented specifically for David M. Flores, 48, but it certainly seems appropriate to his situation. Following a Highlands Ranch bank robbery, Flores was busted on an aggravated robbery charge after handing a Walmart clerk red-sta ... More >>
More photos below.You're right, America: Times are tough. Which likely has something to do with the latest rash of bank robberies along the Front Range. We've learned about three -- count 'em, three -- recent heists: one in Fort Collins, two on South Buckley road in Aurora. Page down below to ... More >>
JV Bandit?The number of bank robberies in these parts may not be the most accurate gauge of the continuing economic funk, but it'll do in a pinch, as evidenced by not one, not two, but three new heists. First up is the JV Bandit, who first made headlines in July before allegedly hitting anot ... More >>
The JV Bandit.Last month, we noted that the JV Bandit would make the varsity soon, given the rate at which he was allegedly knocking over banks. And the suspect, named by the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, which has bestowed monikers on the likes of the Formerly Known as the Perennia ... More >>
Bandit in action.The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force has apparently been so busy naming the likes of the JV Bandit and the Formerly Known as the Perennial Bandit Bandit that it has yet to select a moniker for the trio that knocked over a Chambers Road 1stBank on Tuesday. Should they be ... More >>
Zachary Montoya.The Make My Day law is getting a workout lately. Hot on the heels of Filberto Alderete being cleared in the death of Jesus Sifuentes Jr., word surfaced about a South Williams Street shooting in which a man turned a robber's gun against him. Now we know the name of the dead ma ... More >>
The JV Bandit.The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, the nicknaming kings of local law enforcement, have another scofflaw on their radar: the JV Bandit, who earned his handle for wearing a letter jacket on one of his jobs. Go team! Will he be wrapped up as quickly as the Formally Known ... More >>
"You lookin' at me?"Update, 1:38 p.m.: Well, that was fast. Mere hours after putting out an alert for the excellently named bank robber known as The Formerly Known as the Perennial Bandit Bandit, the FBI has announced that a suspect -- Shaun Michael Gay, 23 -- has been taken into custody. Ge ... More >>
Back again?Shortly after nabbing the Bad Hat Bandit, the folks at the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force are hoping to pluck a guy they've nicknamed the Perennial Bandit. He's thought to have hit the same Bank of the West branch twice, almost exactly a year apart. Spring has sprung, and ... More >>
Bet she's a star in stir.The local FBI branch, not to mention the nickname-bestowing Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, is on a roll lately. First, the feds capture the alleged Super Freak Bandit, Lester Eugene Fowler. And now, Debra Flamio, 54, has been accused of being the Bad Hatter ... More >>
"Bitches..."Last week, we told you about the latest bank robber named by the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force: the Super Freak Bandit, named for his curly wig, not because anyone suspected the late Rick James. Now, the feds think they've got their man -- which explains why the holiday ... More >>
I think she pulls it off...After outdoing itself earlier this week by way of its moniker for the Super Freak Bandit, the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, the agency charged with nicknaming local bank robbers, has taken on a new beat: fashion policing. Note that its latest alert focuse ... More >>
"Sample this, MC Hammer."The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force has outdone itself this time. The office known for its clever names for at-large bank robbers has previously given us such memorable monikers as the H1N1 Bandit, the Tom Thumb Bandit, the Band-Aid Bandit and the recently cha ... More >>
Is this Eric Dodd?The feds aren't messing around when it comes to Eric Dodd, the accused Portfolio Bandit, who was arrested last week. An FBI alert issued on May 10 suggested that the criminal in question was suspected of knocking over a dozen banks -- and now, Dodd has been formally charged ... More >>
Taking over on Monday.Usually, the FBI doesn't highlight bank robbers until after the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force has given them a nickname -- like the H1N1 bandit, the Tom Thumb Bandit, the Band-Aid Bandit or the alleged (and just-captured) Portfolio Bandit. But in the case of th ... More >>
Nice portfolio, sir!It's been four weeks-plus since the capture of Merle Allison, thought to be the so-called Limping Latex Bandit. Since then, the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force hasn't introduced us to any new nicknamed scofflaws. Finally, however, there's a worthy successor to the ... More >>
Media reports have connected Allen Ford to Andrew Gelston Graham's murder.Last week, we told you about reports again linking suspects in a series of racial attacks to the thus-far-unsolved murder of Andrew Gelston Graham. Among those mentioned as being part of a group that allegedly trailed ... More >>
No, not that kind of latex.Update, 4:32 p.m.: Just notified by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office that Merle Allison, who's believed to be the Limping Latex Bandit, has been captured. Look below the original item to get all the details. As the number of Denver area robberies continue to cap ... More >>
No, not that Tom Thumb...The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, the focus of a 2008 Westword feature, has proven again and again that nicknaming thugs is among the most powerful weapons in its arsenal. If not for them, alleged scofflaws such as the Hoppin Hooded Bandits and the $83 Bandi ... More >>
Is this man Frank Lewis?Among the many nicknames given bank robbers by the FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force (profiled in this Westword feature), the $83 Bandit may be one of the strangest. According to a Joel Warner blog about another wanted man with a clever moniker, the Shaggy B ... More >>
Is this man Richard Charles MacNeill?Yet another memorably monikered scofflaw is allegedly off the streets. First it was Timothy McGlothin, thought to be one of the Hoppin Hooded Bandits, whose arrest was announced yesterday. And now it's Richard Charles MacNeill, who Aurora Police think is ... More >>
Hoodies are probably in short supply where Timothy McGlothin is cooling his heels.That didn't take long. Yesterday, we told you about the search for Timothy McGlothin, who authorities (and members of a grand jury) believe was part of bank-robbery group dubbed the Hoppin Hooded Bandits, for t ... More >>
Timothy McGlockin is wanted. Very wanted.The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, profiled in this Westword feature, has had plenty of bank robberies to investigate of late. But at least three of the most memorable jobs, committed on December 2, December 9 and December 15, may have been th ... More >>
Phil NiedringhausToday, while law enforcement and bank honchos were meeting to discuss a recent upsurge in Denver-area bank robberies, a new bank was hit a little over a mile away. Score one for the robbers. In total, there were 208 robberies in Colorado and Wyoming in 2009, a 37 percent in ... More >>
The Band-Aid bandit on the job.The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force is rightly championed for the clever names it assigns to wanted men and women, including the Hopping Hooded Bandits, the $83 Bandit, the Shaggy Bandit and, of course, Bonnie and Clyde. Now, the Aurora Police Department ... More >>
Bonnie and Clyde doing their bank-robbing thing in Colorado.The crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde 2.0 was not nearly as long or storied as their namesakes. Last week, we told you about the couple, who were accused of one bank robbery and several other armed robberies in the Greeley area. But t ... More >>
The years have been very kind to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.The number of bank robberies in the metro area of late has apparently reached such heights that mainstream media can't keep up. Example: Last evening, my wife and some of her colleagues were dining at restaurant off Wadsworth whe ... More >>
Photos from one of the 180 Colorado bank robberies so far this year.There have been nine bank robberies in the Denver area this week, three each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. With developments like this, it may seem like Colorado is getting overrun by stick-up artists -- and, in actuality ... More >>
The scene outside The Healthy Choice yesterday, as captured by Channel 9.The attempted armed robbery at The Healthy Choice Wellness Center yesterday was followed by lots of misinformation. For instance, Channel 7 initially reported that three people were transported to an area hospital with ... More >>
Does this man robbing the US Bank yesterday look familiar?Welcome to the New Depression, when local banks are being robbed at a rapid pace -- because, as Willie Sutton once said, that's where the money is. Two banks were lightened of their loads on Monday. Yesterday, a US Bank branch at 1019 ... More >>
Who is this masked man?Those masked gunmen who stuck up a Bank of the West branch last week? Looks like they're at it again. The TCF Bank at 15350 East 6th Avenue in Aurora was robbed on December 9, and according to FBI spokesman Dave Joly, "the suspect information is the same" as it was in ... More >>
Reports about medical marijuana-related crime are on the rise. Note our interview with Lt. Jerry Schiager, commander of the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, who cited "at least five armed robberies, seven burglaries and one kidnapping" related to marijuana in the Fort Collins area over the ... More >>
Allen Ford may not have been ready for his close-up, but he got one anyhow.Late last month, the Denver Police Department began rounding up more than thirty African-Americans accused of robbing and/or beating men and women because they were either Caucasian or Hispanic. Now, the last of the a ... More >>
Who is this masked man?Banks have had plenty of troubles during our ongoing economic crisis -- but they've still got more money than the rest of us, which explains in part why there's been such a rash of robberies of late. Just yesterday, we told you about the $83 Bandit, who's allegedly rem ... More >>
The $83 Bandit uses video distortion as part of his disguise. Clever!The men and women of FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force (spotlighted in a 2008 Westword feature) have something in common with former President George W. Bush -- they love nicknames. Like, for instance, the $83 Ban ... More >>
If only Dion Morgan had a set of wheels like these, he might've made it...I thought everyone had seen Hollywood movies in which an armed criminal brazenly sticks up a bank, then races his bags of cash outside and hops into a souped-up vehicle capable of outrunning any cop car that dares to fo ... More >>
Ernie Lee Calbert, the alleged "S" Bandit, sitting in the slammer.This sordid story is brought to you by the letter "S." Today, the Denver District Attorney's office charged Ernie Lee Calbert with nine counts of aggravated robbery and one count of second-degree kidnapping. Authorities believ ... More >>
Shaggy in action.Michael A. Kincade, dubbed the Shaggy Bandit, must not take that whole you-have-the-right-to-remain-silent thing very seriously. Shortly after he and an accomplice, the nickname-challenged Christopher Lee Richardson, were captured last week, Kincade gave a jailhouse interview ... More >>
A surveillance shot of the Shaggy bandit.In an August 20 blog, our own Joel Warner told us about the Shaggy Bandit, a scofflaw wanted for numerous bank heists. Shaggy's memorable name came courtesy of the FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, whose members understand that reporters te ... More >>
The Shaggy Bandit, presumably asking for more than just Scooby SnacksIt's been a big week for local robbers with snazzy names. On Tuesday, the FBI announced it was looking for a scofflaw they'd named the $83 Bandit, since the bank notes he's used to rob eight Denver area banks since March oft ... More >>
View Larger Map Information has been dribbling out about a robbery attempt at a cigarette and check-cashing store at 9445 E. Colfax that resulted in one man being fatally shot; the area is captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). Now, the Auror ... More >>
Our February 4 story, "Medical Marijuana Has Become a Growth Industry in Colorado," described how the state's medical pot laws have fueled a booming dispensary industry -- an industry that was starting to look like the Wild West, with robberies and rip-off accusations thanks to lax regulations and ... More >>
A sketch of a Boulder robbery suspect. "Police are releasing a composite sketch of a suspect who was involved in an armed robbery on Wednesday, May 6, on north Broadway," states a just-issued Boulder Police Department press release. "This man and another suspect are believed to have been involved i ... More >>
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