A Bank Robber Who Thought Amarillo Was So Nice, He Robbed It Twice

A bandit in disguise on a multi-state spree of bank robberies with the FBI in hot pursuit. And Amarillo would be paid a visit by the cash-hungry vagabond...twice!

No, this isn't an old-timey tale of history. This took place as recently as 2016. And somehow I never heard about this. Buckle up, it's a wild story.

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See, in 2016 a man went on a bank robbery spree that spanned from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. The robberies attributed to him took place between August 24, 2016, and February 4, 2017. He was initially credited with hitting 8 different banks--but in the end, it was over 11 banks.

Behold, The Barrel Chested Bandit

In the early robberies, witnesses described the man as, a white male, mid-40s to early 50s, 5'6" - 5'10", 250 pounds, large build, light complexion, and gray hair. He wore a baseball cap in all of the robberies and sunglasses in 6 robberies.

As you can guess, he was given his moniker thanks to his "barrel-shaped" physique.

The Barrel Chested Bandit's MO was to show a small handgun, order the teller to give him money and then swiftly exit on foot with the cash.

So Nice, He Visited Twice

As the brazen bandit made his way through the Southwest, he made Amarillo a target not once, but twice.

• On October 18, 2016, the First Bank Southwest Branch at 2400 South Georgia Street was robbed.
• On December 12, 2016, he hit the Amarillo National Bank at 2530 South Georgia Street.

While he seems to have boomeranged from Amarillo to Albuquerque in a back-and-forth series of heists, it is indeed curious to see how both his targeted banks were within blocks of each other on Georgia. He may have chosen these branches due to their proximity to I-40 and I-27.

He Fought The Law, The Law Won

Alas, the long arm of the law is always a tad longer than one would think. Law enforcement arrested the Barrel Chested Bandit on February 21, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. He was identified as Anthony James Lane, age 50.

According to a release from the US District Attorney's Office in Arizona, Anthony Lane pled guilty to 11 counts of bank robbery and one count of attempted bank robbery. He was then sentenced to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson.

The Obvious Question

Of course, there's one question that anybody in their right mind would have in the back of their head while reading all this......exactly how much did the Barrel Chested Bandit make off with?

Over the course of his robbery spree, the total amount of money (including the two banks he visited in Amarillo) taken amounted to $74,000.