‘Granddad Bandit’ pleads guilty The man dubbed the “Granddad Bandit” has pleaded guilty to two Virginia bank robberies and has acknowledged robbing 24 other banks in 14 states.
Michael Francis Mara, 53, of Baton Rouge, La., pleaded guilty to the Virginia offenses Thursday in federal court in Richmond. He will not face charges in the other states.
The FBI nicknamed Mara — who is balding, has gray hair and wears glasses — the “Granddad Bandit” to help the public identify him during a nationwide campaign to apprehend him.
Prosecutors said the robberies occurred from December 2008 to July 2010 and Mara raked in $83,868 in cash.
Woman killed in crash
A woman was killed Wednesday night in a Lorton crash, according to Fairfax County police.
Police said 57-year-old Sharon Parish was driving turning onto Henderson Road from Ox Road when her 2000 BMW was struck by a 27-year-old man driving a 2000 Chevrolet. The man suffered minor injuries.
Police believe speeding was a factor and still are investigating.
Man charged in wife’s death
A Silver Spring man who called 911 to say he had killed his wife has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly stabbing her to death while two of their young children were home.
Montgomery County police said 32-year-old Bernardo Paz Flores-Olvera called 911 from a pay phone at the Piney Branch Service Center just before midnight Tuesday. He did not identify himself, but said he had killed his wife. Officers found 33-year-old Elizabeth Velez Vasquez dead at the couple’s apartment on the 1000 block of Quebec Terrace.
Two of the couple’s three children were home during the attack. Those children, ages 3 months and 2 years, were not harmed, and Flores-Olvera later took them to a family member’s home, police said.
Emily Babay
