Richard Gathercole, pictured, was indicted for an August 2014 Nebraska robbery on Tuesday
The suspected ‘AK-47 bandit,’ who investigators believe robbed banks in five states has been charged with robbery in Nebraska.
Richard Gathercole, 39, was indicted Tuesday for an August 2014 bank robbery in Nebraska City, according to court records.
FBI officials have been looking for years for the man they believe robbed banks in California, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington while carrying an AK-47 rifle.
Gathercole also faces weapons charges.
The ‘AK-47 Bandit’ typically wore a balaclava mask and body armor, and carried the eponymous assault rifle equipped with a drum magazine during the heists.
Investigators believe Gathercole pulled off his first robbery on February 29, 2012, in Chino, California.
After robbing the California Bank & Trust, Gathercole, carrying an AK-47 rifle and wearing a ski mask, opened fire on a Chino police officer who was outside, said Chino Police Chief Karen Comstock.
The officer was seriously injured, but has since recovered and returned to the force, Comstock said.
Authorities believe the last robbery linked to the AK-47 Bandit took place in Mason City, Iowa, in July 2015.
The FBI released surveillance images of the ‘AK-47 Bandit’ and offered a $100,000 reward to anyone with information that could lead to his arrest and conviction
Gathercole was first arrested after an ‘interaction’ with the Musselshell County Sheriff’s Department and the Montana Highway Patrol on June 14.
He posted bail but was rearrested on June 20 at a gas station in Lexington, Nebraska, in connection with an incident during which a Kansas State Trooper who was trying to pull a vehicle over was shot at. The trooper was not injured.
He was stopped after he was found driving a stolen vehicle that was linked to that shooting.
A search of the vehicle yielded two Ruger 9mm handguns and one Bersa .380 handgun.
After his arrest, a jailhouse phone call transcript showed Gathercole asked his mother to clear his home of ‘all the guns.’
Investigators searched the residence in the town of Roundup, Montana, about 50 miles north of Billings, on Saturday and found ‘numerous’ improvised explosive devices, authorities said.
The ‘AK-47 bandit’ carried out multiple robberies wearing a ski mask and body armor
Gathercole faces weapons charges along with his Nebraska robbery charges
‘There was nothing about this bank robbery series that was average,’ Woolery said during a press conference on Tuesday. ‘Most bank robbers stay local, within the same state, and thankfully we rarely see assault rifles and actual IEDs used during bank robberies.’
Gathercole is being held on state theft and possession of stolen firearms charges in Nebraska, and Woolery said federal charges were pending against him.
Prosecutors in San Bernardino County, California, said they planned to file a charge of attempted murder of a peace officer against Gathercole in connection with the 2012 shooting.
The FBI previously offered up to $100,000 reward for information leading to the man’s arrest and conviction.