March 3, 2009
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

OFFICIALS NAME SUSPECT IN MULTIPLE BANK ROBBERIES

Law enforcement authorities have identified the suspect believed to be responsible for at least five bank robberies in the past month, including three in the Ormond Beach area. Multiple arrest warrants have been issued for 44-year-old Leonard Willis of Jacksonville, but so far he has eluded capture. Officials in North and Central Florida have been searching for Willis for about a week. The search has now expanded to Georgia after two banks were hit there on Friday and Monday. Willis has been named a suspect in one of the Georgia robberies, and officials are working to confirm his involvement in the other. A convicted felon, Willis has spent time in prison for burglary and trafficking in stolen property. He was released from prison following his most recent incarceration in October 2008. 

The first in the string of robberies occurred on Feb. 6, at a Suntrust Bank just outside the city limits of Ormond Beach. The next two occurred on Feb. 17, about 30 minutes apart at two banks in the city of Ormond Beach. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Ormond Beach Police Department and the FBI were working together to investigate the cases and identify the suspect. The Lake City Police Department was brought into the investigation after a bank there was robbed on Feb. 23. The robber struck next on Friday in Tifton, GA and also may have been responsible for a bank robbery on Monday in Dublin, GA.

Based on surveillance images from the robberies, investigators were certain they were dealing with the same suspect in the four Florida robberies. No one was injured in any of the robberies, and in each case, the suspect implied he had a weapon, but never displayed one. In at least three of the bank robberies, the suspect was spotted fleeing the scene in a white pickup truck just like the one that Willis drives. Investigators got their big break last week when a probation officer in Orange Park saw a wanted flier distributed by law enforcement and recognized Willis from the bank surveillance photos taken during the robberies. On Feb. 25, Sheriff’s investigators obtained warrants charging Willis with robbery and grand theft for the Suntrust heist. Ormond Beach detectives obtained warrants for Willis on Feb. 26 charging him with two more counts of armed robbery. Lake City also has an arrest warrant out on Willis. 

Despite an extensive search, authorities had not located Willis as of Tuesday afternoon. He’s 5’8” and 160 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. He drives a 1989 white Chevrolet pickup truck with a standard cab, tinted windows and a Florida tag, M33-8PW. Anyone with information regarding Willis’ whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office, Ormond Beach Police Department or Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida, toll-free, at (888) 277-TIPS. Information also can be provided to Crime Stoppers by texting “TIP231 plus the message” to CRIMES. Anyone who provides information to Crime Stoppers will remain anonymous and can qualify for a reward of up to $1,000.

Update: March 4, 2009
Leonard Willis, the suspect in multiple bank robberies in Florida and Georgia, has been arrested. Law enforcement authorities captured Willis, March 4, 2009  fleeing from a bank robbery in Georgia. Willis is being held at the Lamar County Detention Center in Barnesville, GA, approximately 40 miles northwest of Macon.