Authorities arrested a Southeast Washington man last week and they say he confessed to a total of 11 robberies and one attempted robbery in the past 16 months. At 11:06 a.m. Wednesday, a man walked into the SunTrust Bank at 1100 G St. NW, told the bank teller he had a gun and demanded 50- and 100-dollar bills. The teller pressed the bank’s silent alarm and tried to alert another bank employee that she was being robbed, but ended up complying with the robber’s demands by giving him $2,849.
Authorities said that before Wednesday, they had received an anonymous tip identifying Jerome F. Thomas as the perpetrator of similar bank robberies between November 2009 and January 2011. While looking over surveillance photos from Wednesday’s heist in which the robber’s face was clearly visible, several law enforcement personnel thought the individual resembled Thomas. Two individuals who have known Thomas more than a year and have had repeated contact with him confirmed that he was the robber.
