
FBI spokesperson declared that the Straw Hat Bandit was recently arrested.
An FBI spokesperson recently declared that 57-year-old Richard Boyle, also known as the Straw Hat Bandit, was recently taken into custody and charged with aggravated robbery. According to the man’s affidavit, Boyle has robbed at least 11 banks between 2012 and 2012. In 2008, Boyle was convicted to 3.5 to 10 years in prison, after he confessed that he robbed at least eight banks at gunpoint.
The Portrait of a Bank Robber
The Straw Hat Bandit’s reign of terror has ended – so wrote numerous news outlets referring to the recent arrests of 57-year-old Richard Boyle, a Doylestown resident, and the owner of an aerial photography business.
According to an FBI spokesperson, the Straw Hat Bandit began his criminal career in early 2008. Hearing on the news about an individual who managed to steal a couple of thousands of dollars from a Bucks County bank, Boyle began cooking up his plan.
Craig Penglase, Boyle’s former defense attorney, told the reporters that the man’s plan of pursuing a criminal career, threading in the footsteps of his Bucks County peer, have also been fueled by the man’s financial situation.
At the beginning of 2008, Richard Boyle’s company, a small aerial photography business, was on the verge of collapse. Moreover, according to the man’s statement, it appears that he was also faced with the perspective of losing his house and his family.
And so, arming himself with a gun and wearing only an ‘inconspicuous’ shirt, the man entered a bank and kindly asked the tellers to open up the safe. Before being caught, the Straw Hat Bandit, as he will henceforth be called, robbed at least eight banks.
In 2008, the individual was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and was facing a 120-year sentence. However, the judge agreed to sentence him to 3.5 to 10 years in prison. As soon as he got out of jail, the man resumed his career as a bank robber.
The Straw Hat Bandit Strikes Again!
This time, he came prepared. During his 2012 – 2016 heist string, when he managed to rob at least 11 banks, he wore a straw hand and had a paper bag-like mask on his face. An FBI spokesperson said that the Straw Hat Bandit robbed the banks located in Montgomery and Bucks County using a semiautomatic pistol.
Moreover, in his later years, the man managed to get away with approximately $500,000, money which he laundered through his aerial photography business. For his latest deeds, the Straw Hat Bandit might be sentenced to 200 years in prison.
Image source: Wikipedia