Bank Robbery Suspect Already Had FBI Tracker on SUV

A day before police to catch an armed robbery suspect last week, the FBI had placed a GPS tracker on the vehicle agents believe was used by the suspect, court records say. The man may be connected to other bank robberies in the area.

Edward Martin Andrews, 46, of Bladensburg, Md. — the man whom the U.S. Attorney's Office has charged in connection with the June 8 Oakton BB&T robbery — was apprehended wearing pants stained by the dye used to identify stolen bank funds, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI the day of the robbery.

In the affidavit, Special Agent Beau Bourgeois outlined a series of bank robberies under investigation in Fairfax County, and included details on the possible connection of Andrews with the May 6 robbery of Wachovia Bank in McLean, the May 19 robbery of United Bank in Vienna and the Oakton robbery.

When Andrews entered the bank, he jumped on the counter, pointed a gun at a teller and demanded the cash drawer be opened, according to an affidavit filed by the FBI the day of the robbery. He then took the money and placed it in his pants, left the bank, and then hid in the bushes next to Oakton United Methodist Church.

He then drove away in a white Lexus SUV through Vienna, and the GPS revealed his vehicle was on Interstate 495 near Gallows Road.

Fairfax County Police were able to locate the vehicle and, along with Virginia State Police, followed it until the pursuit ended in Washington, D.C. Officers found money inside Andrews' pants.

A detention hearing today determined Andrews would be detained without bail. Andrews is being held at the Alexandria Detention Center.

In at least two robberies, dye packs exploded and left traces on the suspect's body, car or clothing to help police identify them later, court documents said.

In the Wachovia robbery, the suspect fled the scene in a white- or cream-colored Lexus SUV. In the United Bank robbery in the Tysons area of Vienna, the suspect was seen entering a gold Toyota sedan with a partial license plate that matched a 2005 gold Toyota Camry bearing a Maryland tag registered to Yolanda Antoinette Andrews, of Iverson Street in Oxon Hill, Md. A 2001 white Lexus RX SUV is also registered to Yolanda Andrews.

Court documents do not show the connection between Yolanda Andrews and Edward Andrews.

After observing the SUV outside of the Iverson Street address for a few weeks, law enforcement officials placed a GPS tracker on the vehicle June 7, the day before the BB&T Bank was robbed.

The complaint also listed robberies on April 11 and May 13 — both dates coincide with robberies that occurred in Reston — but it did not offer details that show a connection to Andrews.