WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |Suspected "Limping Bandit" robber arrested

Suspected "Limping Bandit" robber arrested

Posted by: John Shryock - bio | email

COLUMBIA, SC (WSFA) - A man suspected of robbing 23 banks around the southeast, including several in Alabama, is under arrest.

The FBI confirmed Cecil Stephen Haire's arrest Friday in South Carolina following the latest robbery.

Haire is accused of being the "Limping Bandit", a nickname he picked up from witness accounts that stated he limped while running from several bank heists.

Investigators say the robber usually waited in line as a customer, only to pull a black handgun from under his shirt as he approached the teller.

Three banks in Alabama's Wiregrass fell victim to the robber. Colonial Bank branches in Dothan, Enterprise and Ozark were each held up in 2007.

Other states targeted in the spree included Florida with five heists and Georgia with three.

South Carolina saw the vast majority of the robberies with twelve known heists dating back to late 2007.

After allegedly robbing nearly two dozen banks over a three year period, it was the quick thinking of a witness to write down the robber's license plate number that led to Haire's arrest.

And though Haire has not been convicted on any of the charges against him, prospectors are sure to point out the limping in his "Limping Bandit" nickname comes from the Polio Haire suffered as a child. It made his right leg shorter than his left.

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