"Dying Son Bandit" Spins Sad Tale to Bank Tellers He Robs

​I hope the man dubbed by the FBI the "Dying Son Bandit" really does have a son who is dying.

Wait, that didn't come out right. I don't hope anyone is dying. Actually, that applies to most people. But I hope the bank robber who tells tellers he is only taking cash from them because of his son's medical condition really is being sincere, because surely there is a place in hell reserved for those who would lie about such a thing.

The Dying Son Bandit struck most recently a Citibank branch at 23562 El Toro Road, Lake Forest, around 3 p.m. Thursday. An hour before that, he hit the U.S. Bank branch at 33621 Del Obispo Road, Dana Point.

labankrobbers.org

​He's obviously moving north. On New Year's Eve, he walked into a Citibank branch in Oceanside, told employees he wanted to open an account for his cancer-stricken son and then informed them it was a stickup before abruptly changing his mind and leaving, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

But, about an hour later, he went through with a robbery at a nearby Bank of America branch. Authorities have also tied him to robberies of a California Bank and Trust branch in Encinitas on Dec. 16 and a Navy Federal Credit Union in Carlsbad on Nov. 14.

It's hoped someone will recognize him from photos pulled from surveillance video in the banks. He is further described by the FBI as a skinny white man in his mid-40s and 5-feet-8 tall.

During the Orange County heists, he was unshaven and wearing a T-shirt, sunglasses and baseball cap, and carrying a leather-bound notebook. Anyone with information about his identity or whereabouts is asked to call 1.800.TIP.OCCS.