'Handsome Guy Bandit' Pleads Guilty In Federal Court
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The man known as the 'Handsome Guy Bandit' pled guilty on Tuesday to two charges connected to robbing 11 Texas banks last year, guaranteeing him between 32 years and life in prison.
According to U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Kathy Colvin, Richardson resident Steven Ray Milam, 44, entered a pair of guilty please related to brandishing and using a weapon in relation to a crime.
During his first court appearance, in Feburary, Milam pled not guilty to bank robbery and firearms charges.
Between April and December of last year, Milam robbed 11 banks spanning from Richardson to Houston. The FBI gave him his nickname because he wore a bald, Hollywood-styled latex mask during the robberies.
Colvin says Milam used a gun in six of the 11 bank jobs, including one on Dec. 31 in Richardson, when Milam ordered employees and customers into the vault at gunpoint and traded bullets with police officers in the parking lot.
After telling the bank employees he'd kill them if they used any dye packs or trackers, he told them to count to 500 and not call authorities.
But police were already in the parking lot –– Colvin says Milam shot once, hitting an officer's squad car in the driver's side front windshield "just above the inspection sticker."
As police took cover, Milam fired another two shots, hitting the driver's door and the passenger door behind it. Colvin says Milam fled on foot, ditching the gun, mask, keys, clothes and money. He visited his Richardson home and took off to Austin.
He was caught the next day, Colvin said. Milam was headed for Florida, but officers spotted him in Mississippi. But he didn't surrender –– Milam sped away, triggering a high-speed chase. After he avoided spike strips, a local Mississippi Sheriff shot out his back tire and Milam spun out.
The gig was up –– Milam was arrested in Mississippi and later extradited to Texas.
The plea documents were filed Tuesday, and Colvin says Milam pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renne Harris Toliver. He'll be sentenced on September 17. Below is a full list of the 11 banks Milam robbed, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office:
- April 19, 2011: BBVA Compass Bank, 14852 Preston Rd. Dallas, TX
- May 2, 2011: Bank of America, 7300 N. MacArthur Blvd. Irving, TX
- May 13, 2011: Wells Fargo, 17088 Preston Rd. Dallas, TX
- May 17, 2011: First National Bank, 1300 Preston Rd. Plano, TX
- June 11, 2011: American National Bank, 1101 E. Plano Pkwy. Plano, TX
- July 14, 2011: First Community Bank, 1755 N. Collins Rd. Richardson, TX
- Aug. 30, 2011: Patriot Bank, 9545 Katy Fwy. Hedwig Village, TX (near Houston)
- Sept. 12, 2011: Wells Fargo, 5219 Richmond Ave. Houston, TX
- Sept. 29, 2011: Prosperity Bank, 5919 Forest Ln. Dallas, TX
- Nov. 22, 2011: BB&T Bank, 11800 Preston Rd. Dallas, TX
- Dec. 31, 2011: BBVA Compass Bank, 1401 Campbell Rd. Richardson, TX
