KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Knoxville man with a criminal history that includes forgery, theft and auto burglary now is accused of robbing three banks on successive days last week, court records show.
Robert Z. Whipple, 47, appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on a criminal complaint.
He's being held in the Knox County jail, according to records.
Authorities say he held up the Home Federal Bank on Downtown West Boulevard the morning of March 5; the First Horizon Bank on Downtown West Boulevard the morning of March 6; and the Fifth Third Bank on E. Walker Springs Road.
An affidavit prepared Monday by FBI Special Agent Wesley Leatham details how authorities found Whipple, who was staying at a Red Roof Inn off Papermill Road.
The robber the first two times wore a distinctive red rain poncho, light-colored shorts and white sneakers, according to investigators.
The banks are across the street from each other.
After the second holdup, the robber left in a Buick Enclave with a Virginia license plate. But he abandoned it nearby in a shopping center at 1645 Downtown West Blvd., according to Leatham.
Knoxville Police Department officers found it and impounded it.
Further investigative work showed it had been stolen early March 5 from an auto repair shop on Kingston Pike. Surveillance video indicated the man who stole it looked a lot like the bank robber, according to records.
On Saturday, March 7, the robber struck again. This time he wore a tan jacket with a hood, a woman's wig, blue jeans and white sneakers, according to the affidavit.
The teller at Fifth Third Bank thought it was the same man who had held up the other two banks.
He appeared to be wearing a Dickie's style jacket. That piqued the curiosity of law enforcement officers, who decided to see if anyone recently had bought such a jacket or maybe even a red rain poncho at the Walmart on Walbrook Drive.
Sure enough, Walmart security personnel tracked down the sale to Robert Z. Whipple on March 2 of a poncho, envelopes, markers and a soda, records state. Recorded video surveillance showed a man who looked a lot like the robber buying the items.
After the third robbery, further work led KPD and the FBI to the Red Roof Inn, where they confronted Whipple in a room with two women.
Drug paraphernalia sat in plain sight in the room, according to the affidavit.
"After being advised of his rights, Whipple invoked his right to an attorney," the document states.
The FBI later that night obtained a search warrant for the motel room. They collected, among other items, a pair of jeans in which they found about $3,500 in $50 and $100 bills, white shorts and a pair of sneakers.