Arlington County experienced three bank robberies in June — the same number of heists the county had in all of 2010.
Police spokeswoman Crystal Nosal said three in one month was unusual for the county, but declined to explain the sudden outbreak. Before June, Arlington hadn’t seen a bank robbery since January. This month brought the total for the year to four.
Virginia has seen a steady rise in bank robberies over the last few years, going from 101 in 2008 to 127 in 2010, according to FBI statistics.
The Arlington banks were robbed between June 6 and June 20. The first two robberies were committed by the same man, investigators said.
Police described the man who robbed BB&T Bank in the 3000 block of Washington Boulevard on June 6 as a white male in his mid-50s, 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. He wore a red wig, a baseball cap, glasses, khakis and a brown plaid shirt.
On June 16, the man robbed a different BB&T branch while dressed similarly, though he ditched the wig and went with a blue plaid shirt instead.
Both times he implied he had a weapon, demanded cash and fled on foot.
An FBI spokeswoman said the agency is still investigating whether the red-wigged man had been responsible for any other robberies in the Washington area.
Police described the suspect in the June 20 robbery of a third BB&T branch as an African American male in his late 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black mask. He displayed a handgun, demanded money then fled on foot.
There were 22 bank robberies in Virginia between January to March. There were 29 in Maryland during that time, and four in the District, according to the FBI.
Bank robberies in Virginia and D.C. were down from the same quarter in 2010, and up by four in Maryland.
