The bank robber who strapped a bomb to himself and held 10 hostages for up to 15 hours inside a Bakersfield, Calif., bank before authorities shot him dead has been identified as a US Army veteran and sex offender.
Police named the suspect as 41-year-old Anthony Scott Searles-Harris, who was dishonorably discharged for going AWOL on duty.
He is also a registered sex offender who was charged with sex acts with a child under 14 in 2014, police said.
Witnesses revealed that Searles-Harris offered a chilling statement when he began the robbery.
“It’s a bad day to be at the bank,” he said, according to KGET.
His reason for committing the act remains unclear. During hostage negotiations, he spoke with police about food and water, as well as certain materials he wanted to see concerning his court case, authorities said. He said that he was frustrated with “certain elements” of his case, police said.
One possible motivation for the crime, officials said, was notoriety. He specifically asked if the FBI was involved, and appeared to want federal officials working on the case.
Officials said he tied up five of the 10 hostages and rigged some of them with explosive devices, they said. He released two of the hostages before negotiations came to a standstill.
The long standoff ended early Wednesday morning when hostage rescue team officers, whom an FBI official called the FBI’s version of special forces, took him out. All of the hostages were deemed unharmed after receiving medical attention.
Police are unsure whether the improvised explosive devices were active or not but they were able to conclude that they were not concerning. “We’re still doing further testing on it, but we were able to conclude at this point in time that they were not a concern to us,” an FBI official said.
Searles-Harris has a long rap sheet, including two sex act convictions in 2014. He was convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age and oral copulation with a minor under 14 years of age and more than a 10-year age difference between offender and the victim.
Another man allegedly paid Searles-Harris $200 in 2014 to have two girls, aged 13 and 17, to perform oral sex on him, according to reports. Searles-Harris allegedly hosted underage girls at parties at his Oildale home, giving them alcohol and drugs and coercing them into sex acts.
He was released in 2018 with a last reported address in the 500 block of Oildale Drive in Bakersfield.
Police were called to the Chase Bank at 17th Street and Chester Avenue just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Officers evacuated surrounding buildings near the Chase bank branch in the city’s downtown area and shut down streets. Police described the suspect as a man who was making threats and appeared to have a bomb strapped to his torso.
Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh said at the time that she was closely monitoring the situation,
“The best way the public can help at this time is by avoiding the area and allowing law enforcement officers, negotiators, and other trained professionals the space and opportunity to safely carry out their duties,” she said in a statement.
