Bank robbery suspect once tried to flee scene on Metro train
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
November 17, 2009
Authorities say they are unsure of how Quenten Terrell Sims has allegedly fled four bank robberies in Arlington and Fairfax over the past six weeks, but apparently he has devised a better plan than the one that failed in February 1998.
Less than 20 minutes after he robbed a Virginia Commerce Bank on Feb. 17, 1998, Sims was arrested by police as he waited for a train at Metro's Clarendon stop, news reports said at the time. Another rider overhead Sims talking about the cash he had in his bag and alerted police.
Back then, he went by the name Prince Khalil Shabazz. He admitted to the crime in June 1998 and was released from prison in 2006. He's still on probation, records show.
His alleged method now is the same as the one he used in his 1998 robbery in Clarendon. According to police, in each case Sims passes a note to a teller demanding cash and then walks quickly out of the bank with the bills in a bag.
Two of the Arlington banks are in Sims' old stomping ground in the Clarendon area and were hit Oct. 17 and 20. The third Arlington bank was near the Pentagon and robbed Oct. 26. The fourth robbery was in Fairfax County on Oct. 10 in the Beacon Hill area.
Anyone with information about Sims -- also known as Shabazz -- should call Arlington County police at 703-228-4242.
For more information about Washington-area bank robberies, visit bankbandits.org.
