Prolific bank robber dubbed ‘Elephant Man Bandit, ‘Cyborg Bandit’ sentenced to nearly 9 years in prison
SENTENCING UPDATE February 23, 2016 --
The FBI says the masked criminal known as the Cyborg Bandit and, later, the Elephant Man Bandit was robbing Seattle-area banks at an average of more than two per month for an entire year before he was caught—in the act of robbing a bank he had already robbed.
For investigators who routinely work bank robberies, the story of 46-year-old Anthony Hathaway, sentenced last month to nearly nine years in prison, is surprising in some ways but all too familiar in others.
“In this particular case and in general, bank robbery is a crime of last resort,” said Len Carver, a detective with the Seattle Police Department and member of the FBI’s Seattle Safe Streets Task Force. “Occasionally you get a thrill seeker or a truly violent individual, but most people who rob banks are supporting an addiction of some kind—drugs or gambling—and they are desperate.”
Hathaway’s addiction was to prescription painkillers and then to heroin. According to court records, he suffered an injury and became addicted to the opiate Oxycontin. After losing his job, he turned to crime to feed his addiction, and between February 2013 and February 2014, Hathaway admitted to 30 bank robberies. He sometimes hit the same bank multiple times.
“Seattle has had many serial bandits over the years,” Carver said, “but Hathaway was prolific. He might top the list for sheer number of robberies in a one-year period.”
During the holdups, which usually occurred late in the afternoon, Hathaway wore a mask and gloves. In the early crimes, he wore textured metallic fabric over his face and was nicknamed the Cyborg Bandit because the disguise was similar to that of cyborgs in science fiction productions. After that disguise began receiving too much media attention, he covered his head with a shirt and cut out two eye holes. That earned him the nickname the Elephant Man Bandit because of the similarity to a movie character of the same name.
In several robberies, Hathaway threatened tellers, saying he had a weapon, although no weapon was ever displayed. On February 4, 2014, after a robbery in Lynwood, Washington, surveillance video showed what might have been the robber’s getaway vehicle: a light blue minivan with a Seattle Seahawks football decal on the back window and an unusual, after-market exterior mirror.
A bulletin with the vehicle’s description went out to area law enforcement, and an Everett Police Department officer spotted it several days later and notified investigators. “An officer on patrol was being observant,” Carver said. “It was a key moment in the investigation.”
At that point, however, the bank robber’s identity was still unknown. The vehicle was not registered to Hathaway, and several people had access to it. FBI agents began surveillance, and on February 11, 2014 they observed a man drive away in the vehicle.
The driver spent several hours circling a Seattle bank that had been previously robbed. “It seemed clear he was going to rob the bank,” Carver said, “and we had a high confidence that whoever was driving the van and about to rob that bank was going to be good for the other robberies.”
Finally, Hathaway parked and pulled a mask over his face as he entered the bank. FBI agents and task force officers were there to arrest him moments later. Hathaway was identified and later admitted to the 30 robberies. In a plea arrangement concluded last month, he was sentenced to 106 months in prison.
“We are grateful that the Safe Streets Task Force was able to close all these robberies,” Carver said. “And we are pleased that Hathaway is no longer a threat to the community.”
CAPTURE UPDATE February 12, 2014 --
A man suspected of as many as 30 bank robberies in the Puget Sound region has been arrested.
Police say the 44-year-old from Everett robbed so many banks, they thought he was two people — and even gave him two nicknames.
In July, the King County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI released photos of a suspect they called ‘Elephant Man Bandit’ because of his elaborate face covering — and said he was linked to robberies in Bothell, Woodinville and Shoreline.
Then, in October, they released photos of the “Cyborg Bandit” — a man who robbed at least four other banks.
Police say they now believe it’s the same guy.
On Wednesday, police were following his van, after a witness had described it in a previous robbery.
“They actually observed this individual go into a Key Bank located in the U. District on 25th Northeast, with the ski mask on and exiting the bank with the ski mask on and that’s when we were able to apprehend him,” Steven Paulsen of the Seattle Police Department said.
Authorities believe the man is responsible for as many as 30 robberies in the region.
FUGITIVE WANTED BY THE FBI December 13, 2013 --
Officials say the serial bank robber nicknamed the “Cyborg Bandit” has robbed at least two more banks since October.
The robber is believed to have robbed at least six banks in the past three months, most recently in the Northgate area of Seattle on December 4th.
The suspect is around six feet tall and is of a thin build. During the robberies, he’s covered his face with a distinctive cloth and worn the hood of his sweatshirt over his head.
The suspect first robbed a bank in Bellevue in September, and then three additional banks around the area in October. Most recently, he robbed a Wells Fargo in Kirkland on November 30th and the bank in Northgate last week.
Wells Fargo is now offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the bank robber.
Anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of the robber is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
