An alleged bank robber dubbed “the lifeguard bandit” is being held in custody and will face a bail hearing on Sept. 1 after robbing a Brownsville bank at gunpoint while wearing a red lifeguard sweatshirt, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court.
The bank robber, identified as 37-year-old Ricardo Subero, entered the Santander Bank on E. 98th Street at approximately 12:25 p.m. on Aug. 29 and handed a note to a teller demanding they empty their entire drawer and implied the situation could “escalate” if they failed to comply, said Micah Freidman, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in court documents. The bank’s deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
“On August 29, 2022, within the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant Ricardo Subero knowingly and intentionally take by force, violence and intimidation, from the person and presence of one or more employees of a bank,” Friedman said in his report.
He also said that during Subero’s interaction with the bank teller, he flashed “what appeared to be” the silver barrel of a gun.
The teller complied with the robber and gave him roughly $2,333 in cash but hid a small electronic GPS tracker within the stacks of money.
Shortly after Subero left the premises, the tracker activated, allowing law enforcement to track his live. Using the information from the tracker and a physical description of the suspect broadcast over police radio, police were able to stop the defendant near the intersection of East 80th Street and Flatlands Avenue about 30 minutes after the robbery.
The arresting officers allegedly recovered about $2,323 from the defendant’s pants pockets, a nylon bag, a backpack and a red sweatshirt that read “LIFEGUARD + ALASKA” , the same sweatshirt that he was allegedly seen wearing at the scene of the crime.
Subero’s bail hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York is set for the morning of Sept. 1, according to court documents.
