Leesburg bank robber found with ‘large quantity’ of money, police say

Brandon Hooks, 38, of Lady Lake, arrested in Wells Fargo robbery

FILE - (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) (Gene J. Puskar, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

LEESBURG, Fla. – A suspected Leesburg bank robber was caught Monday with a “large quantity of U.S. currency” and was placed under arrest.

Leesburg police said the Wells Fargo bank in the 2200 block of Citrus Boulevard was robbed around 9:30 a.m.

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According to police, several alarms were tripped at the bank and dispatchers spoke to a bank employee who confirmed that the bank had been robbed.

Police said a man, later identified as 38-year-old Brandon Hooks of Lady Lake, was wearing all black clothing when he entered the bank and provided a note to a teller. The man did not show a gun, police said.

The teller complied with the man’s request and he then left the bank, police said.

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An undercover detective observed a man wearing black shorts and a white muscle shirt walking and then running west on Tally Road, several blocks south of the bank, officials said. Other officers were notified and arrested the suspect without incident on Tally Box Road, just south of Tally Road, according to police.

The money found on the man — $3,492 in total — was later confirmed to be the currency that was stolen from the bank, police said.

In addition, a bank employee positively identified the man, saying he had removed a black shirt he was wearing, according to authorities. A black shirt was later found on a wooded footpath off Tally Road, police said.

In an interview later on, investigators said Hooks told them he had been kicked out of his aunt’s home because of an argument over her not giving him his money, which she was in control of.

Hooks said he didn’t have money to fill his medications and that he had been off his medications for around two months, detectives said.

Hooks faces a charge of second-degree bank robbery.

No injuries were reported.

An investigation is ongoing.


About the Author:

Daniel started with WKMG-TV in 2000 and became the digital content manager in 2009. When he's not working on ClickOrlando.com, Daniel likes to head to the beach or find a sporting event nearby.

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