'Filter Bandit' robs community bank in Fort Lauderdale, FBI says

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The "Filter Bandit" got his nickname, because he usually wears a dust filter mask when he robs banks in South Florida. 

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents blame him for robberies in Broward, Martin and Palm Beach counties. 

About 3 p.m., on Friday, a man suspected of being the "Filter Bandit" walked into the AmTrust Bank branch, 9100 Oakland Park Blvd., in Fort Lauderdale, according to the FBI.

He was armed with a gun and "demanded money from a bank employee," FBI Special Agent Michael D. Leverock said in an e-mail. "There were no injuries, no shots fired." 

They first identified him in 2014 when he robbed the Chase Bank branch, 10135 Cleary Blvd., in Plantation. Last year, he even robbed the same TD Bank branch, 1800 N. Pine Island Rd., in Plantation twice. 

"He should be considered armed and dangerous," Leverock said in a press release last year when he was accused of seven robberies. The list is getting longer. 

The bank robber almost got caught in July, after he was involved in a head-on crash while trying to get away in a silver Volkswagen Beetle. He pointed a gun at the other driver. And during an August robbery in Coral Springs, authorities said he got away in a gray Toyota Corolla. 

Leverock was asking anyone with information to call the FBI at 754-703-2000.