Serial Bank Robber's Vacation Ended by Arrest, Cops Say

Matthew Maxwell’s Atlanta vacation came to an abrupt end Wednesday when law enforcement officials picked him up on a slew of bank robbery charges out of Central Florida.

When they learned Maxwell might be in the Atlanta area, Florida law enforcement officers were able to enlist the help of their counterparts in Georgia to bring him in.

Maxwell, 29, of Tampa, is accused of conducting a series of bank robberies throughout the Tampa Bay area between November 2013 and June 2014, including five in the Brandon area, according to an email to media from Debbie Carter, spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Describing Maxwell as a “serial bank robber,” the Hillsborough sheriff’s office says he was identified as the suspect in the string of crimes thanks to a tip received by Crime Stoppers in July. Deputies in Hillsborough worked with the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to determine that Maxwell fit the suspect profile in the robberies, Carter said.

With a fit for the profile, Hillsborough deputies tipped off Sarasota County detectives who were able to bring in two witnesses from a November 2013 robbery. Those witnesses positively identified Maxwell in a photo lineup, leading to a an arrest warrant that was issued on July 28.

Deputies found out Maxwell was in Atlanta from a source and asked local law enforcement there to intervene. He was arrested July 30, Carter wrote.

Following Maxwell’s arrest, deputies searched his Sulphur Springs home and discovered “a large sum of money in a secret compartment within the residence, along with several other items of evidentiary value,” Carter wrote.

In a post-arrest interview, Maxwell confessed to a number of bank robberies in the Tampa Bay area, she added.

Maxwell remains in Atlanta awaiting extradition back to the Tampa Bay area.

Photo Credit: Matthew Maxwell/Fulton County Jail