The vast majority of recent bank robberies in Fairfax County will be tried locally, according to the county’s top prosecutor, who said the region’s federal court has turned away from bank robberies in recent decades.
Bank robberies have traditionally been tried in the federal courthouse because banks are insured by the federal government.
But Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert Horan told The Examiner on Thursday that his office has been responsible for prosecuting almost all of the crimes locally for about 25 years.
“When I was first commonwealth’s attorney, [federal prosecutors] did a lot of bank robberies,” Horan said. “But nowadays they’re into the terrorism issues, immigration issues.”
“I’m sure a lot of it has to do with workload,” he said.
The trend is relevant because of an unusual flurry of bank robberies in the county this year. The 35th incident since Jan. 1 was committed Wednesday afternoon when a suspect struck a BB&T branch in the Rose Hill Shopping Center.
Detectives say they believe the man is also responsible for robbing the same Wachovia Bank twice over the past two weeks.
They are looking for a white male between 35 and 40 years of age. He is 5 feet 8 inches or 6 feet tall with black hair and a mustache. Police say they’ve closed 21 of the cases with arrests.
Robbery charges coupled with felony firearm charges can net heavy penalties in both state and federal courts.
