Posted on Thursday, 19th March 2009 by Bruce
A business on Madison’s east side was targeted Tuesday afternoon, in broad daylight, by the man whom police have dubbed the “parka bandit”; a white male, 20-25 years old, 5’5″ to 5’8″, with blond-colored facial hair.
He’s dubbed the “parka bandit” because of the black, knee-length parka which he wears during the robberies. This is the tenth incident in the Madison area involving the parka-wearing suspect since late February.
Last week, Madison Police spokesperson Joel DeSpain told reporters that his department was making the parka’d perp a priority. While not offering specifics, DeSpain told Madison’s Capital Times that the department was “deploying various means to try and catch the crook.”
Police believe the man is a drug addict, and it sounds like they really feel sorry for the fellow:
“Lt. David McGaw said on Tuesday that the robber likely is a drug addict who needs help.
“This kid is just in desperate need of help,” McGaw said, who has been stressing to his officers the necessity of catching him during briefings. “I hate to think of what he’s doing with all this money.”
Police believe the man likely has a drug addiction, due to the high risk of getting hurt or killed during a robbery and his apparent regular need for cash, McGaw said.”
So, if you find yourself in Madison, it’s mid-afternoon, and you see a white man with a slight build wearing a black parka, police would like you to call 911 (where you’ll likely be put on hold, mocked, and possibly disregarded altogether) to give them a friendly “heads up.” You might find yourself pocketing a cool $1,000.00 if your tip leads to an arrest.
Here’s a tip for the “parka bandit”: Don’t target the Java Cat on Monona Drive. Let’s just say it’s a business that has a, ummmm, fairly strong police presence.
Posted in Home | Comments (17) |
17 Responses to “Madison’s elusive “parka bandit” strikes again”
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March 19th, 2009 at 6:30 am
No no. You won’t be mocked or put on hold. The 911 folks will just hang up on you.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Maybe the Capitol Police can help out by setting up a surveillance here: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/41472052.html
March 19th, 2009 at 7:28 am
Now this is an example of sensitivity: “Lt. David McGaw said on Tuesday that the robber likely is a drug addict who needs help.
“This kid is just in desperate need of help,” McGaw said, who has been stressing to his officers the necessity of catching him during briefings. “I hate to think of what he’s doing with all this money.”
March 19th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Yeah, never mind what the people and businesses robbed are going to do to recover their losses…
March 19th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Bruce, you’re not suggesting that the police are “gleaning” a cup of coffee at The Java Cat, are you?
March 19th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Actually, Glenn, I think Joel DeSpain would suggest that officers were “latching onto” a latte.
All is well that ends well, after all.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:44 am
And people actually take this guy serious when he speaks to them.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:46 am
He’ll be pretty easy to catch in june or July.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Hmmm…I was just reading SouthMilwaukeeNow.com and the SMPD is looking for a robbery suspect that also wears a black parka.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:41 am
What’s the over/under on when Madison institutes a ban on parkas, since they can be used to commit crime?
March 19th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Heather,
I give it even odds actually.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:59 am
According to Doyle - you can’t say “white male”, that’s racial profiling. Are we to now think that all short young white males are potential criminals?
Doyle is knuts!
March 19th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Lt David McGaw is a moron. It’s not his job to worry about the criminals reasons for committing crimes it’s job to protect the public from this type of scum. Madison is such a beautiful place run by complete ass-hats.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
No wonder why we have been hearing about crime in Madison more and more.
It looks like the police officers want to be social workers instead of cops.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:59 am
Aldi in South Milwaukee was robbed last night by a man wearing a black parka. He was able to get away. He wore gloves, a ski mask that covered his entire face except his eyes, and a black parka. He robbed them at closing. He’s not leaving finger prints or pictures because he is wearing gloves and a ski mask…so I sure hope the SM Police are doing something proactive to catch this guy instead of hanging out at the SMPD until calls come in.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:19 am
Black parka! Those are racist code words.
Clearly this young man is in desperate need of help!!! If we had only “spread the wealth” sooner, this poor young man wouldn’t have been forced to rob Aldi.
I blame Aldi and it’s NO CREDIT CARD policy. They enticed this man and his black parka!!
March 21st, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Two to the chest and one to the head.