The police want your help in nabbing a four-time, ink-wielding bank robber who’s been knocking off branches for more than a year.
Police say James McDonald, a 43-year-old, blue-eyed, balding white man, 5-foot-8 and weighing 180-190 pounds, is responsible for a series of robberies in which he walks unarmed into banks, slips the tellers a note, and walks off scot-free.
On Jan. 17, for example, McDonald (right) allegedly stalked into a Doral Bank on Fifth Avenue and 11th Street, sporting a green fedora. He passed the teller a note that read, “Give me the money and nobody will get hurt!!! Right now!”
The teller complied, and McDonald walked off with got $1,500, police said.
That robbery followed McDonald’s usual M.O., though he has made some effort at changing up his appearance and his prose.
On March 16, he entered North Fork Bank on New Utrecht Avenue and 71st Street wearing a dark jacket, blue jeans, and dark shoes, and passed a note that read, “Give me the money and nobody will be hurt. Don’t be stupid.”
The teller handed him $2,065, and he escaped, police said.
McDonald last struck on Jan. 21 at a North Fork Bank on 13th Avenue and 46th Street, exactly one year after robbing Independence Savings Bank on Prospect Place and Vanderbilt Avenue — his first in the mini-spree, cops said.
The police do not believe McDonald is armed, but don’t want anyone testing that theory. If you see him, cops ask you to call the CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential, police said.
