The "Blue-eyed Bandit," a man armed with blue eyes and a cotton T-shirt, has evaded the Tempe Police Department for three weeks now.
How does he do it? By striking in extremely predictable patterns that, apparently, are too difficult for our police force to crack. This criminal mastermind has struck 11 times since Jan. 27, and all but once, he has done it within a mile of the University and Hardy intersection.
While the police can't be everywhere at once, they should be able to cover a square mile. Better yet, they could just stakeout the AM/PM at 980 W. University Drive for an hour each night. Is that too much to ask?
The suspect hit this AM/PM three times last week. He first hit the convenience store on Monday at 1:38 a.m., again on Tuesday at 2:20 a.m., then - in a remarkable display of patient criminal plotting - waited until Friday to strike again at 1:48 a.m.
We can forgive the police for not being there on Monday and perhaps Tuesday, but how did they miss the guy on Friday? It was the exact same store at the exact same time!
These are the people that we are paying money to protect us, and they seem to have the crime-fighting skills of the Hardy Boys. No, that's too complimentary - they have the skills of Scooby-Doo...without Shaggy.
To give you a better idea of what we're dealing with, the bandit targets restaurants and convenience stores, sticks his hand in his shirt and tells people that he has a gun. Perhaps it's speculation to say he doesn't have a real weapon, but what else can you conclude from a guy who, according to police reports, says, "I really have a gun. I mean it."
Not to mention the fact that he fled the scene empty-handed after he tried to hold up the Little Szechwan but was "accidentally bumped" by an employee's elbow. Those aren't the actions of an armed man.
Another weakness is the fact that the robber doesn't even have a getaway vehicle; he flees all his scenes on foot. Yet, the fact remains that this man is still on the loose.
We have clear photos of him, we know where he lives (based on the fact that he is on foot and always strikes in the same area) and when and where he strikes. So what's the holdup?
The Tempe Police Department should just admit defeat and offer a reward to the public. Maybe some Tempe Boy Scouts need a merit badge and could bring him in by the week's end. Somebody has to protect us, and the real "boys" in blue seem like a better alternative than the police right now.
