News

Digital billboards help FBI nab 'I-55 Bandit'

September 12, 2013

The FBI's St. Louis Division announced that Andrew Maberry, who'd been dubbed "the I-55 Bandit" by the Bureau, has been arrested and charged with one count of bank robbery in connection with a July robbery at Commerce Bank in Arnold, Mo. The 19-year-old Maberry, of O'Fallon, Ill., surrendered to the St. Louis FBI Field Office less than 24 hours after a publicity campaign was launched seeking the public's assistance in capturing the I-55 Bandit.

"We want to thank the news media and digital billboard companies for providing coverage on the I-55 Bandit," Division Special Agent in Charge Dean C. Bryant said in a Bureau press release. "We have no doubt Maberry's surrender was a direct result of the extensive media attention. We also appreciate the dozens of solid tips we were provided by the public. The FBI has long relied on the public to help identify and capture criminals."

The I-55 Bandit is believed since May 6 to have robbed 10 banks and attempted to rob two others in five states: Illinois, Missouri, Maryland, West Virginia and Tennessee. The I-55 Bandit moniker comes from the fact that all four banks robbed in the St. Louis region were along Interstate 55. The FBI continues the investigation to determine if Maberry is linked to other bank robberies.

Learn more about digital billboards.