The “Hipster Bandit” – so named by the FBI for his stylish clothing and sunglasses he wore to bank robberies – has pleaded guilty to holding up seven banks for a total of $16,120 taken.
William Conn Robertson II, 28, will be sentenced Oct. 27 in U.S. District Court and faces a maximum 20 year federal prison sentence. The U.S. Bank in La Mesa was the first bank hold-up in the series July 2, 2015, according to court records.
Robertson entered the bank and wrote a note on the back of an envelope to the teller that said “do not do anything stupid.” The teller complied and Robertson took $1,800 in cash. The other banks he admitted to robbing were located in Claremont, Fallbrook, Scripps-Poway area and Oceanside.
Robertson is a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan and served as a military sniper before he received an honorable discharge. A photo of Robertson was taken by a veteran’s group that was posted online and he happened to be wearing a red T-shirt with the “Sriracha” logo on it which he wore during one of the bank robberies.
The FBI discovered Robertson fit the profile as the “Hipster Bandit.” He was arrested July 14, 2016 at an apartment in Serra Mesa where he was staying on the couch of a friend he knew from high school. An anonymous tipster alerted Crimestoppers five days before that Robertson was the “Hipster Bandit,” according to court records after the FBI publicized a $20,000 reward.
Robertson remains in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail.
This is not the worst crime he has committed in his life and it never will be.