'Traveling Bandit' Faces 20 Years In Prison: Feds

MIAMI, FL — Jason Lee Robinson, the so-called "Traveling Bandit," accused of a robbing banks from Florida to Utah, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.

The 40-year-old Robinson of Pikeville, Kentucky was formally charged with bank robbery by federal prosecutors in the southern district of Florida, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan in Miami announced Friday along with FBI Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro, of the Miami Field Office.

Robinson was taken into custody in Fruita, Colorado by special agents of the FBI's Denver Field Office in January and is being held in Florida.

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He is accused of robbing seven banks in six states starting on Dec. 28 at a Capital Bank in Aventura, Florida. He allegedly escaped with $1,900 from that heist.

On Jan. 2, he allegedly robbed a SunTrust Bank in Asheville, North Carolina. Two days after that he allegedly robbed a Mountain Commerce Bank in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Robinson struck again at a U.S. Bank in Mount Juliet, Tennessee on Jan. 8 and two days later a Trustmark Bank in Prattville, Alabama, prosecutors charged.

Robinson allegedly robbed a Fifth Third Bank in Mount Vernon, Illinois on Jan. 14 and finally a Wells Fargo Bank in Price Branch, Utah on Jan. 17.

In the Miami suburb of Aventura, the FBI obtained surveillance footage that showed the bandit jogging from the Capital Bank branch toward the alley behind a nearby Kosher Kingdom, where he placed something in his pocket and removed a dark blue sweatshirt that read "Straight Outta Dallas,' according to court documents.

All of the robberies took place at various times throughout the day between 9:40 a.m. and 4:50 p.m., according to information released by the FBI. No one was injured in any of the robberies.
The FBI released photographs of the bandit taken from surveillance cameras at various locations. He could be seen wearing a similar dark-colored baseball cap in multiple robberies.

According to federal court documents, Robinson allegedly handed a teller a note during the
Aventura robbery that indicated he had a weapon.

"Out of fear for his/her safety, and the safety of others present in the bank, the victim bank teller then handed the robber approximately $1,900 in U.S. currency," court documents said. "The robber grabbed the money from the counter, grabbed the note, and fled the bank. Thereafter, the victim teller pressed the bank's silent security alarm.

Robinson's ex-wife called the FBI tip line shortly after the surveillance images were released to the public in January.

"Investigators have dubbed him the ‘traveling bandit’ based on the great distances he has covered committing these robberies," according to Special Agent Michael Leverock and spokesman Jim Marshall of the FBI in Miami.

FBI Field Offices in Charlotte, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Memphis, Tennessee; Mobile, Alabama; Springfield, Illinois; Salt Lake City, Utah; Denver, Colorado and Louisville, Kentucky all participated in the investigation.

Robinson was on supervised release at the time of his arrest and wasn't permitted to leave Kentucky, according to the FBI.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa H. Miller in the Southern District of Florida.

Customers were in at least one of the banks at the time of the robberies.

Surveillance image from one of the bank robberies courtesy FBI