Serial Robber Hits 5 Banks in One Day: Police

NEW YORK CITY — Police are trying to catch one busy bank robber who hit five banks — two on the Upper East Side and three in Midtown — in a single day.

Alex Garcia, 38, must be immune to "the Monday's," as police have named him the suspect in five attempted bank robberies that occurred within a three-hour span on Monday, Dec. 5. Garcia was certainly working hard on Monday but doesn't have much to show for it, police said, as teller at all five banks stonewalled him before he could escape with any cash.

The first robbery occurred around 1:45 p.m. at a Valley National Bank on 5th Avenue and West 31st Street, police said. Garcia entered the bank and slid a note demanding money to a teller, who promptly refused, police said. Garcia then left the bank and repeated the same routine at a Capital One Bank on Park Avenue and East 58th Street around 2 p.m. and again at an HSBC bank on Park Avenue and East 40th Street around 2:35 p.m.

Striking out three times in Midtown, Garcia then turned his attention to the Upper East Side, police said.

Garcia entered a Chase bank on Lexington Avenue near East 72nd Street around 3:20 p.m. and demanded money from the bank teller, police said. Once again the teller denied Garcia, police said.

There's a theme emerging here.

In the last attempted bank robbery of the day Garcia entered a Chase bank on East 82nd Street near 2nd Avenue around 4:45 p.m., police said. Garcia once again demanded money from a stubborn teller, who refused his orders, police said. The fifth time was not the charm for Garcia.

Police describe Garcia (pictured above) as a bald man with hazel eyes standing 5-foot-7 and weighing around 160 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

Photos by NYPD