Gainesville Police arrested an Old Town, Florida, man after police said he robbed two Wells Fargo locations in Gainesville in the span of a month.
At about 3:50 p.m. Oct. 1, Donald Richard, 56, approached a teller at the Wells Fargo on Archer Road and gave them a note that said he was armed, GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in a series of emails.
He walked away with an undisclosed amount of cash and evaded police dogs, ground patrols and a helicopter.
At about 4 p.m. Monday, Richard walked into the Wells Fargo in the Oaks Mall parking lot with a similar note, according to the emails.
He escaped once again with an undisclosed amount of cash, but Mary Vaught, a GPD crime analyst, researched everyone released from the Department of Corrections to Gainesville since 2013.
Out of 76 options, she found Richard. He was released in 2013 after serving a sentence for six bank robberies in Hillsborough County, according to the emails.
"He is now in jail for these robberies simply because of her and her dedication to her work," Tobias said.
Authorities found a picture of Richard on Facebook wearing the same shoes he wore during both robberies. Two employees of a Veterans Affairs housing unit in Gainesville also recognized photos of Richard, who used to live there, according to the emails.
Gainesville Police and the sheriff of Dixie County later found Richard and his wife sitting in lawn chairs outside their home — he was wearing the same boots.
Authorities searched their home and truck and found more clothing used in the robberies, along with an imprint of the second robbery note in a receipt book, according to the emails.
Richard’s wife said she recognized her husband in surveillance photos, and he borrowed her truck on both days, according to the emails.
Authorities arrested Richard on two Alachua County warrants for the robberies and took him to the Dixie County Jail where, as of press time, he remains without bond.
Contact Giuseppe Sabella at gsabella@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Gsabella
