FBI offering reward for bank robber information

KINGS BEACH, Calif. - The FBI is offering a $1,000 reward for tips leading to the capture of the man who has robbed three branches of the Bank of the West in Kings Beach, South Lake Tahoe and Grass Valley the past three months.

A Wednesday press release from the bureau's Sacramento field office describes the man, nicknamed the "Fake-bearded Fedora bandit," as a white male with a fake goatee and fedora hat who is approximately 40 to 50 years old, with gray or salt and-pepper gray hair and is around 5-foot-9 to 6 feet tall with a slim build.

In each robbery - the most recent of which occurred Monday in Kings Beach - the man approached the teller counter, brandished a handgun and made verbal demands for money, and he used a black, eco-friendly type bag found in many supermarkets to deposit undisclosed amounts of cash.

Anyone with information should contact the Sacramento field office at 916-481-9110 or the Placer County Crime Stoppers hot line at 1-800-923-8191 if informants wish to remain anonymous.