Denver-Area Serial Bank Robber The 'Powder Puff Bandit' Pleads Guilty
(CBS4) - The serial bank robber nicknamed the "Powder Puff Bandit" pleaded guilty to several charges Thursday in Arapahoe County Court. Paul Hernandez was accused of committing at least seven bank robberies in the Denver metro area and pleaded guilty to three felony charges in the morning, according to Colorado court records.
Investigators say Hernandez, 34, committed multiple robberies in mid-2020 along with one other person.
Hernandez is a federal ex-convict who served time for earlier bank robberies where he was known as the Bleach Blonde Bandit. Then in early 2020 he was arrested and was facing charges for three different January 2020 bank robberies where he covered his tattoos with makeup -- and was given the new nickname Powder Puff Bandit.
In June of 2020, Hernandez was released from custody on bond in the case and he didn't show up for a court hearing in mid-September 2020. Eventually, he was arrested in October 2020.
Hernandez and the other person were suspected in all of the following mid-2020 robberies:
- Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. TCF Bank 2084 South Broadway in Denver
- Aug. 31 at 4:30 p.m. TCF Bank 7206 Federal Boulevard in Westminster
- Sept. 3 at 4:30 p.m. TCF Bank in Denver
- Sept. 8 at 4:30 p.m. TCF Bank in Arvada
- Sept. 15 at 2:46 p.m. Key Bank 7372 West Chatfield Avenue in Littleton
- Sept. 21 at 11:40 a.m. FirstBank at 3801 Federal Boulevard in Denver
- Oct. 1 at 2:59 p.m. BBVA Compass Bank at 4600 South Broadway in Englewood
Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4.