Fingerprint led federal authorities to 'Shaky Bandit' in S. Florida, court records state

Robbing a bank was his first mistake. His second was leaving behind that note. 

The FBI's first lead on the identity of the "Shaky Bandit," suspected in a series of bank robberies, came from a latent fingerprint on a note the robber left behind after what authorities think was his first heist.

Eleven bank robberies later, the suspect, identified as Brandon Venditti, 22, was arrested Tuesday, along with an apparent getaway driver. They fled from Collier County sheriff's deputies, Florida Highway Patrol troopers and FBI agents at high speed on Alligator Alley after robbing a Wells Fargo bank branch in East Naples, officials said.

More: FBI arrests serial bank robbery suspect in Collier County

More: 'Shaky Bandit' suspect arrested after Collier bank robbery, 120 mph chase, deputies say

Venditti, of Weston, surrendered immediately when authorities found him in the back seat of a gray Mazda hatchback that had been involved in other robberies, authorities said. The getaway driver, identified as Walter Roberts, 29, had fled on foot, according to an arrest report.

Roberts, of Fort Lauderdale, climbed over a 15-foot tall barbed-wire fence that separated the cross-state stretch of Interstate 75 from the Everglades and jumped into a canal. Authorities were waiting for him as he tried to swim away.

Timeline:'Shaky Bandit' has history in Southeast Florida

Authorities said it was the end to an almost three-week-long string of bank heists that mostly spanned Broward and Palm Beach counties before crossing the state.

Records filed in federal court detail the first robbery that authorities think Venditti committed.

On Sept. 27, a man later identified as Venditti went to a Citibank in Fort Lauderdale and handed a bank teller a note demanding money, a criminal complaint states.

Venditti reportedly told the teller, "I have no choice but to do this. I have a family," the complaint states.

He handed the teller a note that read, "This is a Robbery You have 30 seconds to fill this bag NO ALARM No Bull (expletive) OR I will Shoot you in the (expletive) Face," authorities said.

Venditti left the bank with about $2,183. Officials tested the note for fingerprints and came back with a match to a man identified in court documents as W.R.

FBI agents on Monday interviewed W.R.'s parents in their Fort Lauderdale home and asked whether their son, who is black, "associated with any white males," because the bank robber was white, the complaint states. 

The parents told authorities of someone they knew only as "Brandon" and described him as white, 20-25 years old and about 6 feet tall with brown hair, according to the complaint. W.R.'s parents said "Brandon" had visible track marks on his arms and was addicted to drugs, officials said.

Investigators showed W.R.'s parents printed photos taken from the Citibank's surveillance system; his mother identified the man in the photos as "Brandon" and gave agents a phone number for him.

Another clue for authorities was that Venditti wore the same hat during five of the heists, the complaint states. Venditti's public Facebook profile also had photos of him wearing the same hat, officials said.

Venditti faces one federal bank robbery charge, the complaint shows, although authorities said he is suspected of several other robberies.

Roberts was booked at the Naples Jail Center on suspicion of fleeing and eluding, drug possession, resisting arrest without violence and driving without a valid driver's license, according to an arrest report. His bail was set at $17,500 and was not posted as of Thursday evening. 

Venditti appeared in federal court in Fort Myers on Wednesday and will be transferred to federal authorities in South Florida, where most of the robberies took place and where he will face the bank robbery charge.