You might say the Geezer bandit is getting so much exposure, he's now the face of some cover-ups.
The most recent pictures of the serial bank robbery suspect surfaced in Santa Barbara County. The FBI has new images taken Friday, Jan. 28 during an armed robbery at Bank of America branch in Goleta.
After the Facebook page surfaced months ago, this elusive figure is becoming even more prominent on the Internet. You can now buy T-shirts, mugs and bumper stickers featuring the Geezer Bandit.
Skyler McManus designs T-shirts and manages Hamel's in Mission Beach.
"It's just distasteful. You know what I mean?" said McManus. "What if the guy shot somebody?"
He says he would never sell anything like this.
Customers we talked to shared his distaste.
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"I wouldn't patronize a place that sold the T-shirt," said Pat Foley.
According to the FBI, the so-called Geezer Bandit has held up at least 13 banks since August 2009. Ten in San Diego County. So far, no one has suffered physical injuries.
"I've talked to some of these victim tellers," said FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth. "Some of them have required some extensive counseling."
That's because the victims have been held up at gun point.
But people like McManus say it's not just the banks and their tellers who've been victimized.
"These banks are F.D.I.C. insured by the U.S. government. Where do you think all those dollars come from? They come from the tax payers," he said.
NBCSanDiego has contacted the website selling the merchandise for comment but haven't been able to get a response.
By the way, there is a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the Geezer Bandit.
