COLUMBUS, GEORGIA — The man authorities suspect to be the “Bad Wig Bandit” is in custody in Georgia in connection to several bank robberies in North Carolina and one store robbery in Charlotte, the FBI said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
Patrick Alexander was taken into custody at Fort Benning, Georgia, on Monday when he tried to enter the installation, officials said. When Military Police ran his identification, which is standard procedure to enter a military installation, an active robbery warrant was discovered.
[ Man wearing blond wig, high heels robs Huntersville bank, police say ]
Alexander, 30, is currently facing one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon related to the Charlotte convenience store robbery and one count of common law robbery for a Huntersville bank robbery.
[ ‘Bad Wig Bandit’ struck again, this time in western NC ]
He is currently being held at the Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, Georgia.
The suspect was given the moniker “Bad Wig Bandit” by the FBI after he robbed several banks within weeks of each other in the Charlotte area. In each robbery, the suspect wore a different wig.
[ ‘Bad Wig Bandit’: Same man believed to be behind 3 area bank robberies ]
Alexander is a suspect in the following robberies in North Carolina:
- December 13, 2019- BB&T Bank 16710 Northcross Drive, Huntersville;
- January 7, 2020- New Horizon Bank 6440 Wilkinson Boulevard, Belmont;
- January 7, 2020- Wells Fargo 403 Cox Road, Gastonia;
- January 16, 2020- BB&T Bank 100 Dana Road, Hendersonville; and
- January 23, 2020- Circle K 100 Red Roof Road, Charlotte.
The FBI, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the Huntersville Police Department, the Belmont Police Department, the Gastonia Police Department, and the Hendersonville Police Department are continuing to investigate.
Additional charges are likely.
This browser does not support the video element.