'Uncle' sought in seven O'ahu bank robberies
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
The robber is a heavyset man, about 5 feet 9 and in his late 40s, and has been seen most often wearing a maroon-colored baseball cap with a Washington Redskins logo.
CrimeStoppers
"I've nicknamed him 'Uncle' because there's nothing about him that sticks out and he looks like a neighbor's uncle," Honolulu Police Department CrimeStoppers coordinator Detective Letha DeCaires said.
The suspect in this photo is wanted in the robbery of seven banks on O'ahu, police say.
Police say the man is responsible for seven bank robberies on O'ahu, six of which have occurred since April 5.
The serial robber has branched out from the Kalihi area. His most recent robbery occurred Friday at First Hawaiian Bank's Kapahulu branch and came two days after he robbed the American Savings Bank branch at the Kamehameha Shopping Center. The two-day gap between the First Hawaiian and American Savings Bank holdups is the shortest period between robberies.
The seven robberies are the most by a single suspect since Glen Y. Yonamine's spree from January 2000 to September 2001.
Yonamine, who was nicknamed the "Black Beard Bandit" because of the fake black beard he wore during robberies, pleaded guilty in February 2002 to robbing four banks.
Police, however, have attributed nine to 11 holdups to Yonamine.
The "Uncle" bandit's most recognizable feature is his Redskins cap, which he has worn in three of the robberies. He has robbed three banks on Fridays and one each on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Taro Nakamura at 529-3382, or Crime-Stoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
