Former Hialeah Cop Who Spent Time in Prison for Bank Robbery Behind Bars Again

Rolando Angel Bolanos, 41, was arrested Sunday on charges of simple battery, tampering with a witness and violation of probation, according to a Miramar Police arrest affidavit released Monday.

A former Hialeah cop who spent time in prison for robbing a bank is back behind bars after he was arrested for battery during an argument with his ex-wife, police said.

Rolando Angel Bolanos, 41, was arrested Sunday on charges of simple battery, tampering with a witness and violation of probation, according to a Miramar Police arrest affidavit released Monday.

During a bond court hearing Monday, Broward Circuit Judge John Hurley ordered Bolanos held on $8,200 bond on the charges in Broward. He'll be held without bond on the probation violation out of Miami-Dade.


Bolanos' father, Rolando Bolanos Sr., the former Hialeah Police chief, said in court Monday that his son has been meeting all of his probation terms, and said the dispute with his son's ex-wife was over money.

"I believe this issue is not as serious as has been reported," Bolanos Sr. said.

According to the report, Bolanos was picking up his kids at his ex-wife's home on Sept. 17 when he became angry when she wouldn't pick up the phone to let him through the gate.

The woman said her phone wasn't working, and she drove to the front gate to let Bolanos in, and they got into an argument in her home, the report said.

During the argument, Bolanos pushed the woman to the ground then grabbed her cell phone out of her hand when she said she was going to call the police, the report said. He then threw the phone out of the window of his car as he drove away, the report said.


Bolanos made news in 2010 when he was sentenced to 364 days behind bars after pleading guilty to strong arm robbery in the Feb. 9, 2009 heist of the Bank Atlantic at 7775 W. 33rd Avenue in Hialeah.

Police said Bolanos was wearing the same jacket during the robbery as one he was seen receiving as a gift on a home video, and a witness was able to get his license plate number as he fled the scene. He also deposited $2,200 into his bank account 20 minutes after he netted $2,389 in the robbery.

In addition to the prison time and paying back the money he took, Bolanos is serving probation until 2016.

Bolanos resigned from the force in 2004 after it was revealed that he hadn't disclosed that he was arrested before the Hialeah Police hired him. His father had been Hialeah's police chief for two decades before he retired in 2007.

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