Man robbed same bank twice, caught because he wore same hat, deputies say

DELTONA, Fla. — A Deltona man already in jail on charges of armed robbery was linked to a second robbery at the same bank thanks to his wife’s breast cancer awareness hat, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.

Mark T. Johnson, 54, was arrested Saturday about 20 minutes after allegedly robbing the TD Bank on Providence Boulevard, investigator said.

Johnson claimed to have a gun, witnesses said, but no shots were fired.

The robbery was reported by a bank employee at about 11:46 a.m., deputies said.

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The robber, who was wearing a distinctive white hat with a pink ribbon on it, took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled on foot, the sheriff’s office said.

At about 12:02 p.m., deputies pulled over a silver, four-door Chrysler driven by Johnson after spotting it “blowing through a traffic light” at the intersection of State Route 472 and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beltway.

The money from the bank was found under the driver’s seat, deputies said.

Three weeks earlier, on Aug. 27, the same bank was robbed and after comparing surveillance video, investigators noticed the robber in that case was wearing the same hat as Johnson.

“Investigators determined the distinctive breast cancer awareness hat Johnson wore into the bank (Aug. 27) belonged to his wife,” the sheriff’s office said.

Johnson now faces two counts each of armed robbery and grand theft.

He was being held at the Volusia County Jail in lieu of bonds totaling $160,000.

Cox Media Group