Suspected Serial Robber in Clown Mask Caught

METRO DETROIT, MI — A clown- and pumpkin-masked man listed as a "person of interest" in an armed robbery spree across multiple Metro Detroit communities last week is in custody after a manhunt ended in Ohio Friday night, the FBI said. Todd Raymond Keith, 37, who is believed to have committed at least six armed holdups, was tracked to barn near Aberdeen and captured about 10:16 p.m., investigators with the FBI in Cincinnati said.

Keith is expected to go before a federal magistrate judge in Ohio Tuesday before he is turned over the U.S. Marshals Service for his return to Michigan, where he is already charged with two counts of bank robbery in connection with a Sept. 30 armed robbery of the Chase Bank and an Oct 3 bank robbery at Key Bank, both in Ypsilanti.

It’s unclear when he will be transported back to Michigan.

Keith was captured after the FBI offered a $1,500 reward for information leading to his arrest. A black Lexus he is believed to have stolen at gunpoint in Madison Heights about 6 p.m. Thursday was seen in Tiffin, Ohio. The gunman was wearing a pumpkin mask at the time of the carjacking, the victim told police.

Madison Heights police also think Keith may be the suspect wearing a clown mask who robbed an Extended Stay Hotel in Madison Heights earlier Thursday, The Detroit News reported.

Police are looking at him as a person of interest in armed robberies Thursday at an Embassy Suites hotel in Livonia and Days Inn hotel in Plymouth, a Walgreens store in Brownstown Township.

At least two guests at the Embassy Suites were robbed, as was a desk clerk, authorities said. The attempted robbery at the Days Inn was unsuccessful. In the Walgreens robbery, the suspect was wearing a clown mask pointed a gun at the clerk and brandished it the direction of several customers, police have said.

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Photo via the FBI