FBI agents are searching for a rare form of bank robber: A lone woman who ripped off an Arlington County Chevy Chase Bank last month.
In 2006, the most recent year for which the FBI has a full statistics, only 6 percent of the nearly 9,000 bank robberies in the United States were committed by women. And FBI officials said, even when women do rob banks, it’s rarely alone, although there are no statistics separating women who act alone or with a counterpart.
But around 9:40 a.m. on Dec. 20, a lone woman entered a Chevy Chase Bank on the 2100 block of Crystal Drive. She handed a bank teller a note demanding money.
As the teller handed the woman stacks of cash, she thumbed through each and placed them in a white paper Macy’s shopping bag.
Before the teller had emptied the cash drawer, the woman yelled, “Give me the rest. Give me everything,” FBI sources said.
Once the teller had no more cash to give, the woman took back the demand note and fled through the bank’s main entrance.
The suspect is a Hispanic woman in her late 20s or early 30s. She’s about 5-foot-3 and has a petite frame. She was dressed all in black: A leather thigh-length coat, a scarf wrapped around her face, hat, fingerless gloves and pants.
The FBI also is still searching for a woman who played a role in a series of robberies targeting independent banks in Northwest. That woman operated with a man who is now behind bars after being linked to DNA evidence found on a wig he left behind at a crime scene.
The woman targeting banks in the District is black, in her late 30s or early 40s. She’s about 5-foot-6, with a heavy build and shoulder-length braids. She’s sometimes armed with a silver handgun.
Anyone with information on these robberies should call the FBI Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000.
For additional information on other bank robberies in the area, go online to bankbandits.org.
