Man used a passport to rob 4 South Florida banks, FBI says. He was arrested in Detroit.
Erick Capilla walked into a Doral TD Bank branch earlier this month, approached the teller and showed his U.S. passport book.
The problem: he had a note affixed to a page demanding money, the FBI says.
And that wasn’t the only time he did it, according to a criminal complaint. In a matter of four days, the FBI says he hit three other South Florida banks including one in Miami and two in Miami Beach.
Capilla, 27, of Doral, was arrested in Detroit Friday morning on federal charges of robbing four banks, said FBI Special Agent Michael Leverock and FBI spokesman Jim Marshall.
According to the complaint, Capilla does his regular banking at the Doral TD Bank branch at 3885 NW 107th Ave. On Jan. 15, Capilla walked into the bank and demanded the money. He left with $600 in cash, the FBI said. Capilla was wearing a dark colored, button-up fishing shirt, blue jeans and a dark baseball cap, surveillance showed. His face was not covered.
Two days later, the FBI says, Capilla went to the Iberia Bank, 1501 Alton Rd. in Miami Beach and once again presented his passport book to a teller. This time the note affixed to a page implied that he had a bomb, according to the complaint. The teller handed over $1,000. The FBI said surveillance video from Iberia showed that Capilla was wearing the same outfit as he was in the first robbery. His face was not covered this time either, the FBI said.
The next day, Capilla hit two banks, the complaint says. First, he walked into the TD Bank at 1103 Brickell Ave. in Miami and presented the passport book to a teller.
The note said: “Give me all the money and no one gets hurt.” The teller handed over $602, the FBI said. Surveillance video from this robbery showed him wearing a dark colored, long-sleeve shirt with “WPP” written on it.
Next, Capilla entered the Chase Bank at 295 Northeast 18th St. in Miami and again used the passport. He said no one would get hurt if the teller handed over the money. Capilla left with $1,000 in cash, according to the complaint. He was wearing the same clothes as in the robbery earlier that day, the FBI said.
He left in a black Jeep. License plate readers helped investigators identify Capilla.
Investigators also learned that Capilla banks at the Doral TD branch and had been there seven hours before the robbery. The surveillance video confirmed that it was the same person who presented the passport later in the day, the FBI said.
Capilla is in federal custody and was due to appear before a judge in Detroit federal court Friday afternoon.
Miami-Dade, Doral and Miami Beach police departments teamed with the FBI and are all continuing to investigate the robberies.
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
