"Lunchtime bandit" being held in Cobb County's jail
William Harris A 35-year-old man, dubbed the "lunchtime bandit," was being held Saturday in the Cobb County Detention Center on charges that he committed a string of bank robberies in the north metro Atlanta area.
S.W.A.T. officers from the Johns Creek Police Department, Sandy Springs Police Department, and Dunwoody Police Department, in conjunction with Cobb County police, arrested Stephen Bowen around 7:15 p.m. Friday at an apartment complex on State Bridge Road in Johns Creek. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also participated in the investigation.
“According to investigators, information was obtained [Thursday] which led the Cobb County Police Department’s Robbery Squad to obtain arrest warrants for Bowen,” said Cobb County police spokesman, Joseph Hernandez in a statement.
The warrant was for three bank robberies in Cobb County at the Riverwood Parkway Wachovia bank on Nov. 13, the Chastain Road BB&T Bank on Nov. 19, and the Powers Ferry Road Bank of North Georgia on Dec. 2.
Wachovia Bank on Tuesday doubled a reward for information leading to the man's capture, offering up to $10,000 due to him robbing four of their branches.
Since late October, he's robbed banks in Sandy Springs, Roswell, Dunwoody, Buckhead, and northwest Atlanta near Cumberland mall. Bowen is charged with three counts of robbery by intimidation.
Staff writer Rhonda Cook contributed to this article.