FBI Reveals Identity Of The 'Bearded Bandit'

UPDATED 5AM FRIDAY-

The "Bearded Bandit," a suspected serial bank robber who was arrested Wednesday in Brentwood, was identified by the FBI Thursday as Kenneth Ellis.

Ellis, a 30-year-old Stockton resident, is accused of stealing more than $24,000 from 11 banks in the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California in a spree beginning last month.

He was apprehended after a citizen who saw surveillance images of the suspect reported seeing him with his signature full, trimmed beard around 3 p.m. Wednesday in a Safeway at 3110 Balfour Road, Concord police Cpl. Christopher Blakely said.

Arriving Brentwood police officers did not find the suspect at the Safeway, but the Ford Mustang he was suspected of using was located in the parking lot, Blakely said.

Officers staked out the vehicle, which the suspect came back to about three hours later, after completely shaving his head and shaving his beard into a goatee, Blakely said.

The officers eventually pulled over Ellis and he surrendered peacefully.

He was detained by Brentwood police before Concord police investigators arrived to arrest him.

Ellis was transferred from the Concord Police Department's jail to the Martinez Detention Facility Thursday afternoon. He has been cooperative with officers, Blakely said.

Ellis has been tied to 15 incidents -- 11 bank robberies, an attempted robbery and three reports of him casing banks, according to the FBI.

Most recently, he was suspected of back-to-back bank robberies in Contra Costa and Solano counties on Monday.

Since the spree began on Feb. 12, he was also tied to bank robberies in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, as well as neighboring Monterey, Yolo and Sacramento counties.

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(original story)

BRENTWOOD - Police are expressing thanks to a citizen whose tip led to the arrest of a serial bank robber dubbed the "Bearded Bandit" on Wednesday in Brentwood.

The suspect was wanted by more than a dozen law enforcement agencies for stealing more than $24,000 from 11 banks in the Bay Area and elsewhere in Northern California in a spree beginning last month.

He was apprehended by Brentwood police after an alert citizen reported seeing a man matching the suspect's description around 3 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot of a Safeway at 3110 Balfour Road.

After the citizen provided a good suspect and vehicle description, the man was found in a nearby residential neighborhood, police said. He surrendered peacefully to officers.

Police said the man, whose identity has not yet been released, was turned over to Concord police investigators before he was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility.

Also on Patch: Bearded Bandit Strikes Twice in Tri-Cities

In a news release Thursday, Brentwood police thanked the original reporting party for helping nab the suspect.

"Without this community support, the Bearded Bandit may have been free to commit additional robberies," police said in a statement.

The man has been tied to 15 incidents -- 11 bank robberies, an attempted robbery and three reports of him casing banks, according to the FBI.

Most recently, he was suspected of back-to-back bank robberies in Contra Costa and Solano counties on Monday.

Since the spree began on Feb. 12, the Bearded Bandit was also tied to bank robberies in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, as well as neighboring Monterey, Yolo and Sacramento counties.

-Bay City News, images via Lafayette Police Dept, Contra Costa County Sheriff