Quick Action Nets Arrest Of Serial Bank Robber In 26 Minutes

CLEARWATER, FL — A man nicknamed the I-4 Bandit for his history of robbing banks two decades ago is accused of robbing a Clearwater bank Tuesday.

Clearwater police and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office worked together to arrest David Marc Ratcliff, 55, who they said robbed the Wells Fargo bank at 639 S. Fort Harrison Ave. Tuesday.

A call came in to Clearwater police at 10:44 a.m. reporting that a man walked into the bank and demanded money from a teller. When he became impatient with the time the teller was taking, he climbed over the counter to grab the money himself. He then left the bank and a witness saw him get into a red Dodge Magnum.

Minutes later, a Clearwater police detective spotted Ratcliff getting gas at a gas station on Clearwater-Largo Road. When a sheriff's deputy tried to conduct a traffic stop at West Bay Drive, the Dodge fled at a high speed.

Deputies didn't pursue the car, but the sheriff's office helicopter tracked it to Belleair Beach, where police said Ratcliff abandoned the car and tried to steal a truck on Harbor Drive. The truck owner fought with Ratcliff. Ratcliff fled and was caught by a sheriff's office K-9 a short time later.

This all took place within 26 minutes.

Ratcliff was taken to Morton Plant Hospital for treatment before transferred to the Pinellas County Jail.

Ratcliff was released from federal prison after being convicted of six counts of armed bank robbery in the late 1990s. Nicknamed the "I-4 Bandit," he was suspected of as many as 19 bank robberies along and near the Interstate 4 corridor two decades ago.

He was also a suspect in bank robberies this month in Temple Terrace and St. Petersburg.

"Thanks to information from witnesses, alert Clearwater police detectives and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, we are grateful this repeat offender was captured," said Clearwater Police Chief Daniel Slaughter. "Based on Ratcliff's most recent string of crimes, we are hopeful this criminal career is finished for good this time."

Ratcliff faces an armed robbery charge out of Clearwater and multiple charges from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.