A Hillcrest man who is believed to be the cross dressing “Tootsie Bandit” pleaded guilty March 8 to robbing a credit union, a bank and attempting to hold up another bank that resulted in losses that exceeded $65,000.
Robert Dean Tyndall II, 56, will be sentenced on April 6. San Diego Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers accepted his guilty pleas on March 8, and he faces a maximum sentence of seven years and eight months in prison, said Deputy District Attorney Dennis Panish.
Tyndall wore a blonde wig, a black blazer with a blue blouse, blue jeans and black boots when he held up the Inland Federal Credit Union in El Cajon on July 16, 2010. The FBI released six color photos to the media and said he appeared to be a white male dressed as a woman.
Tyndall waited months before striking again. On Jan. 24, he approached the manager of the Comerica Bank on Rosecrans Street in the parking lot before the bank opened. He claimed to have a gun and ordered the manger to open the bank early, but he refused, and Tyndall left empty handed in a tan pick-up truck.
On Feb. 1, Tyndall used a gun to rob the Torrey Pines Bank, at 9280 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. He ordered all occupants to gather in the lobby and directed a bank employee to fill a bag with cash. He told them to wait three minutes before calling police and he drove off in a tan pick-up truck.
Tyndall only used women’s clothing in the first robbery, but the “Tootsie Bandit” nickname stuck and it was applied by San Diego Police to the other two incidents as well. “Tootsie” was a cross dressing character played by Dustin Hoffman in the title role of the 1982 comedy.
Hoffman portrayed a perfectionist actor on the verge of turning 40. He dresses as a woman and auditions for the part of a female character on a soap opera and is hired.
San Diego and El Cajon Police obtained a search warrant to search Tyndall’s residence and truck on Feb. 4 and evidence from the robberies and truck linked him to the “Tootsie Bandit” series.
Panish said some money was recovered. Tyndall remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.
