VISTA — Authorities have determined that the man arrested Nov. 1 for a set of robberies is not the Geezer Bandit, which was originally reported by witnesses who heard the robber identify himself as such.
Edward Bernard Power, 58, was arrested as a suspect in three robberies that took place in Carlsbad and Oceanside, during the same day.
The Geezer Bandit has been captured on numerous surveillance photos, and is estimated to be about 60 to 70 years of age, about 6 feet tall and between 160 and 180 pounds.
The FBI reports that the bandit is wanted for 10 bank robberies in San Diego County and one in Temecula, the earliest dating back to August 2009.
Power was arrested Nov.1 after allegedly entering three locations within minutes of each other and demanding cash with a note, and in one instance he revealed a handle of a gun after he lifted his shirt, according to Lt. Kelly Cain, investigator with the Carlsbad Police Department.
“An Oceanside teller heard him say, ‘I am that guy,’ and a supervisor heard him say ‘I am the Geezer Bandit,’” Cain said.
But authorities do not believe Power is the Geezer Bandit.
“If we could hammer this guy as the Geezer Bandit, we would have done it,” Cain said.
Besides differences in Power’s age appearance and the Geezer Bandit’s, the way the robberies were conducted was not similar.
“The Geezer went up and down the coast,” Cain said of the Geezer’s bank robberies.
Power went door-to-door, he said.
According to the Carlsbad Police Department, at shortly after 3 p.m. Nov. 1, Power entered a medical office at 2626 El Camino Real and presented a receptionist with a demand note for cash.
Power left the office after the receptionist told him there wasn’t any cash on hand, police said.
Minutes later, Power then entered a Bank of America, which was one block north of the medical office, and was unsuccessful at his attempt to rob the bank with a demand note, according to police.
At his final robbery attempt, Power entered the Wells Fargo Bank on Vista Way in Oceanside, where he presented a demand note to a bank teller and revealed the handle of a dark-colored semi-automatic pistol, Cain said.
He received an unknown amount of cash according to a release on Nov.1.
An employee at one of the locations he entered was able to identify his vehicle and license plate, which led to his arrest that same day, police said.
On Nov. 3 Power pleaded not guilty to several charges at his arraignment in a Vista courtroom, according to 10News.
He faces one count of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.
He was also booked on charges of threatening officers’ lives while in custody, according to Cain.
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