A man suspected of no fewer than 14 bank robberies in the Northeast may have been foiled by a straw he used to drink a can of Red Bull. The FBI arrested a 30-year-old Massachusetts man suspected of being the "Route 91 bandit"—so named because of a string a bank robberies along Interstate 91 in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire in 2021 and 2022, reports WWLP. Authorities had Taylor Dziczek of Chicopee under surveillance at a casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, and grabbed a straw he discarded, per the New York Times. Authorities say DNA from the straw matches DNA from coin wrappers discarded by the man who robbed a bank in Plainville, Connecticut, earlier this year.
The FBI has not revealed what led them to put Dziczek under surveillance. He has so far been charged with robbing the Plainville bank and is suspected in the others. Authorities have said the same man robbed the banks in similar clothing and in a similar manner. In Plainville, the robber gave the teller a note with words along the lines of, “I have a gun. Don’t call 911. Don’t set off any alarms," per MassLive. The robber also flashed what appeared to be a gun, though it remains unclear whether the weapon was real, and warned the teller not to "be a hero." Authorities say the robber tended to keep his right hand concealed, and photos in the criminal complaint show that Dziczek has tattoos on his right hand. In all, authorities say the Route 91 bandit made off with more than $137,000. (More bank robber stories.)
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