SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, marked 16 years since one of San Diego's most notorious bank robbers struck for the first time, launching a crime spree that would captivate the public and baffle law enforcement for years. ABC 10News dug into its archives for reporter Steve Atkinson's 2018 story, which summarized the crime spree by the so-called "Geezer Bandit."
The man dubbed the "Geezer Bandit" by the FBI appeared to be a senior citizen when he robbed more than a dozen banks across Southern California between 2009 and 2011. However, investigators widely suspected he was actually a much younger person wearing a sophisticated prosthetic mask.
Over two years, the Geezer Bandit robbed 16 banks from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, with 11 of those heists occurring in San Diego County alone.
"We have an expression in law enforcement, we only catch the dumb ones," said Jack Hamlin, a National University professor and professional criminal profiler.
The Geezer Bandit was far from dumb.
His robberies were meticulously planned and executed nearly flawlessly. He targeted banks during off-peak hours when security was minimal, often striking on Fridays when cash reserves were highest for payday.
The robber left no known getaway vehicle and may have used prosthetic hands in addition to his facial disguise.
"These robberies weren't random. He's figured out a time when security is low, he's figured out a time when there's going to be plenty of cash, Friday," Hamlin said.
The sophisticated nature of the crimes led investigators to wonder whether the perpetrator had law enforcement experience.
"It's certainly somebody that understands how things work," Hamlin said.
The mysterious bandit developed a cult following, with thousands of fans on Facebook and merchandise celebrating "Geezer for President" still available online.
His crime spree came to an abrupt end in Dec. 2011 during what would be his final robbery in San Luis Obispo. In a first for this bandit, a dye pack exploded, rendering the stolen money useless and potentially compromising his disguise.
The Geezer Bandit dropped a day planner during his escape — his only known mistake.
"I don't see this person suddenly having an epiphany and saying, 'It's over with. I don't need to do it anymore,'" Hamlin said.
Hamlin believes people who commit such crimes need the adrenaline rush and rarely just quit. The dropped day planner could have contained DNA evidence, potentially allowing investigators to use genealogy websites similar to how they caught the suspected Golden State Killer.
"Now you've got this public DNA base, and if there is some way they can tap into that, the sky's the limit on some of these cases," Hamlin said.
However, DNA testing on evidence from the Geezer Bandit case never yielded results. The case remains unsolved, and the Geezer Bandit's Facebook fan page continues to attract followers, with more than 3,000 people still fascinated by the mystery.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
