Same man thought responsible for 3 recent Columbia bank robberies

A Wells Fargo Bank on Garners Ferry Road was robbed Tuesday morning and Columbia police believe the robber is the same man who held up two other Columbia banks last week.

The robber walked into the Wells Fargo branch at 4800 Garners Ferry Road around 9:30am Tuesday, demanded money in a note passed to a clerk, allegedly threatened harm if the clerk did not comply and then fled with an undisclosed amount of money, police chief Skip Holbrook said in a news release. .

Authorities released a surveillance photo of the robber, hoping the public can help identify him. The heavy-set black male is thought also responsible for the robberies of the First Citizens Bank at 2600 Rosewood Drive on Friday and the Wells Fargo at 6700 Garners Ferry Road on Saturday. In each instance, no weapon was shown but the clerk was allegedly threatened with physical harm if money wasn’t handed over.

If you think you can identify this man, or know anything about the crimes, you are asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, text CRIMES (274637) and mark the beginning of the message with “TIPSC” followed by the tip information, or log onto www.midlandscrimestoppers.com and click on the red “Submit a tip” tab.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Same man thought responsible for 3 recent Columbia bank robberies."