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Criminal Records - Most Wanted |
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Profile |
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Name: South Florida Assault Gun Bandits
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Race: Black |
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Wanted for :
Armed Bank Robbery 1, Margate, FL;
Aug 18, 2004
Armed Bank Robbery 10, Tamarac, FL;
Sep 14, 2006
Armed Bank Robbery 5, Delray Beach, FL;
Oct 13, 2005
Armed Bank Robbery 6, Lake Worth, FL;
Oct 18, 2005
Armed Bank Robbery 3, Miramar, FL;
Feb 02, 2005
Attempted Armed Bank Robbery 2, Margate, FL;
Dec 14, 2004
Armed Bank Robbery 7, Boca Raton, FL;
Apr 04, 2006
Armed Bank Robbery 9, Coral Springs, FL;
Aug 11, 2006
Armed Bank Robbery 8, Greenacres, FL;
May 03, 2006
Armed Bank Robbery 4, Boca Raton, FL;
Oct 13, 2005
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Location(s) |
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Last Seen : Broward County, FL |
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Possible Location : Broward County, FL |
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Last Known : Unkown |
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Traits |
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The FBI says there are 3 to 5 suspects involved in the serial bank robberies. |
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Witnesses say the robbers talk in street slang and believe none of the gunmen have an accent. |
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Robbers carry assault weapons including AK-47's, shotguns and handguns. |
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Suspects dress mostly in dark clothes including black ski masks with only eye openings, black gloves, black or navy sweatshirts, baggy pants and jackets. |
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One of the robbers sometimes wears striped designer shirts during some of the robberies. |
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FBI agents fear they are armed for battle since the suspects appear to be wearing ballistic vests and carry plenty of ammunition. |
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They carry two-way radios. |
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The FBI believes the suspects live in Broward County near the city of Fort Lauderdale, FL |
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The suspects steal 1996 to 1999 Ford Taurus cars 2-4 weeks before the robberies. |
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Case Story |
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Armed Robbers Terrorize South Florida |
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They dress all in black, wear ballistic vests, carry two-way radios and worst of all, are armed with the deadliest of assault rifles -- AK-47s. These men are known as the "South Florida Assault Gun Bandits."
In Miami, the South Florida Violent Crime/Fugitive Task Force, comprised of local, county, state and federal investigators, are tracking these bandits. Supervisory Special Agent Rick Brodsky heads the investigation, "They're highly motivated, they're calculated, they're well planned out and it's very dangerous. It's a very dangerous group and a group that we would consider a menace to the community."
Since August of 2004, the FBI says the suspects have hit nine banks and attempted to rob one. Surveillance video shows two or three men bursting into the targeted banks and taking over the entire bank with the threat of killing anyone who doesn't listen. Agents say the suspects' large assault rifles create fear and intimidation, allowing the bandits to rob customers, tellers and the vault in a matter of minutes.
John Coffey, the Broward County Agent-In-Charge with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, says "Our biggest fear in law enforcement is that somebody's going to get killed. We know they are heavily armed, they're protected by ballistic vests and they are ready to battle. They do not want to be caught."
Agents fear if the bandits get caught in the act by responding officers, the next robbery could be a repeat of the infamous 1997 shootout at a North Hollywood, California bank. During the 45 minute shootout there, two armed suspects and cops exchanged thousands of rounds of ammunition. In the end, 11 officers and six innocent bystanders were injured. The cops stopped the battle by killing the two gunmen.
In South Florida, that is the last thing cops want to see. |
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FBI-Miami: Assault Gun Bandits Are Top Priority |
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After hitting bank after bank, the FBI and the multi-agency task force investigating these bandits, have made the suspects their number one priority. For months, agents have scoured every frame of surveillance video and talked to each and every witness. So far, the suspects have robbed nine banks, and attempted one other. Their take so far is $780,000. Their investigation has yielded some new information about the suspects M-O.
Agents discovered that two to four weeks before every robbery, the bandits hotwire a 1996-1999 Ford Taurus from a residential neighborhood in Broward County, near Fort Lauderdale. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Brodsky says, "They steal these cars because theTaurus' made in the late 1990's were easy to hotwire. Since then, Ford has changed that."
For a few weeks, agents say the stolen vehicle, which also may have a stolen license plate from a different Taurus, is taken to a "cooling" area such as a garage for no one to see. On the day of the robbery agents say, the stolen car is taken out and driven to the targeted bank. Once there, the car is parked in front of the bank near the handicapped spots. Then, two to three black men wearing black ski masks with only eye openings, ballistic vests, black gloves, dark clothing and armed with two-way radios and assault rifles, burst into the bank.
Witnesses reported to police officers that one of the suspects watches the front door and customers, while the other takes control of bank employees and heads for the vault. With each robbery, agents say the bandits have gotten increasingly violent ordering more demands, waving weapons, and even pistol whipping bank employees who don't comply fast enough.
In the event an unsuspecting customer enters the bank, witnesses say the suspect manning the front door, has been warned of the new customer by the suspect in the car parked outside via two-way radio. Upon entry into the bank, the masked man greets the patron and says, "Welcome to the f---ing party!" Then, the suspect reportedly orders the customer to the ground.
With the help of the two-way radio communication and the partner in crime sitting in wait in the bank's parking lot, the suspects inside the bank know exactly how quick they must move. Brodsky says, "Most likely the driver is timing the guys in the bank. He gives them a countdown via two-way radio. They're in and out in three to four minutes."
Once outside the bank, the suspects flee with heavy duffle bags full of cash into the getaway Taurus. Agents say in most of the cases, the stolen Taurus was found with the engine running behind a strip mall about a tenth of a mile from the bank. Agents are still trying to narrow down the description of a possible switch car.
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"I Lost My Baby Because Of This Robbery" |
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A young woman who witnessed one of the bank robberies in South Florida, knows what the bandits are capable of. She is afraid but has had the courage to come forward and talk to "America's Most Wanted" if we don't use her real name. Therefore, we've called her "Maria." She told us how the bandits' fear tactics most likely caused her to have a miscarriage.
"Maria" was three months pregnant at the time of the robbery. She was withdrawing money to pay for her college tuition when the masked and armed suspects entered her bank. She did what they asked, "I was scared. Obviously if the people are crazy enough to rob banks and they're at their wit's end enough to go in and rob federal money, then you know putting a bullet in somebody's head isn't much farther than that."
Everyone complied with the suspects' demands to lay on the floor, give up their wallets and cash, and to open the vault. "Maria" said, "I kept thinking 'Who is going to pick up my son from daycare if anything happens to me. It was just a terrifying three to four minutes. It felt like an eternity."
"Maria" said she never looked up from the floor until the bandits left. She said, all she knew was that there were two men in the bank and based on their language, they were black men using street slang.
Shortly after the suspects left the bank, "Maria" began bleeding. Once at the hospital, she knew there was something wrong. Doctors told her she lost her baby. It would have been her second child. She said, "I lost my baby, there was an elderly woman who was bullied and a bank teller pistol whipped. You can't do that to people and get away with it. That's why I'm doing this interview. They must be caught." |
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