A South Florida lawyer has been arrested for his involvement in at least five robberies or attempted robberies of local banks, FBI officials said Wednesday.
Aaron Honaker, 41, was arrested Tuesday night as he was attempting to enter a bank in Coral Gables, officials said.
Coral Gables police said a detective who was in the downtown area had spotted Honaker, who matched the description of the bank robbery suspect.
FBI officials said Honaker was involved in robberies or attempts dating back to at least Sept. 30, when he robbed a Citibank branch at 396 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables.
According to allegations in the complaint affidavit, Honaker would follow a consistent approach during his robbery attempts and succeeded twice: Honaker would walk up to a teller and ask for assistance in making a withdrawal. He would then pass a handwritten note to the teller that would say messages like, “don’t touch the alarm or call the police,” “empty all of your $50s and $100s and put it in an envelope,” and “keep calm, and give me all the money in the drawer, I have a gun.” Honaker would take his note with him on the way out of the bank.
Other incident were reported at the Chase bank at 20880 Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura on Oct. 3, the Well Fargo at 2555 Ponce De Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables on Oct. 5, the Chase at 355 Alhambra Circle in Coral Gables on Oct. 19 and the HSBC at 2222 Ponce De Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables on Oct. 15., officials said.
According to the Florida Bar, Honaker was admitted to practice law in the state in January 2008. He had previously worked for a firm in Coral Gables.
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Honaker was in federal custody Wednesday and was expected to make his first appearance in Miami federal court. Attorney information wasn't available.
Coral Gables Police Chief Edward Hudak praised the detective and his officers who made the arrest.
"I am proud of the efforts and initiative of our officers and the FBI in safely arresting this individual before anyone one else’s safety was put in jeopardy," Hudak said in a statement.
