The FBI today upped the reward to $10,000 for information leading to the identification of the "backpack bandit," believed to be responsible for at least four armed bank robberies, including the holdup of the same Waipahu branch of Bank of Hawaii twice.

FBI special agent Tom Simon said the $10,000 reward for the serial bank robber is separate from the existing Honolulu Police Department’s CrimeStoppers $1,000 reward.

Simon said that "serial bank robbers are extremely rare in Hawaii."

The robberies attributed to the backpack bandit occurred:

>>March 31 at the Hawaii Federal Credit Union, at 1244 Kaumualii St.,

>>May 26 at American Savings Bank at 1851 N. King St.

>>Sept. 1 at Bank of Hawaii at 94-661 Kupuohi St. in Waipahu,

>>Nov. 26 at Bank of Hawaii at 94-661 Kupuohi St. in Waipahu.

In all the robberies the FBI said that the suspect approached the bank teller and placed a dark-colored backpack on the counter.  He pulled a a black semiautomatic handgun from the backpack, pointed the gun at the teller, and verbally demanded money. 

The "backpack bandit" is described as a man in his 30s, 5-feet 5-inches tall and weighing 190 pounds.  In three of the robberies, the robber wore sunglasses resting on top of a dark-colored hat.  During three of the robberies, he also wore what appeared to be a wig

Simon said there have been 23 bank robberies on Oahu. "Eight of these remain unsolved – four of these we attribute to the ‘backpack bandit.’  To put those numbers in perspective, there were 16 bank robberies on Oahu in 2009 and all of them have been solved."