Accused Bank Robber Nabbed by Leesburg Police Several Blocks from the Scene of the Crime

LEESBURG, Florida—A man is custody after Leesburg Police Department found him running several blocks from a busy bank that was robbed Monday morning, according to LPD Capt. Joe Iozzi.

Brandon J. Hooks, 38, of Lady Lake is accused of giving a teller a note indicating he was robbing Wells Fargo, 2271 Citrus Boulevard just after 9:30 a.m. Monday. Hooks, who was wearing all black, did not brandish a gun, Iozzi said.  

The teller complied and LPD responded to the scene after receiving multiple robbery alarms and confirming the robbery with a bank employee by phone. Hooks fled the scene and an undercover detective observed Hooks, wearing black shorts and a white muscle shirt, walking and then running west on Tally Box Road, just south of Tally Road, Iozzi said.

Officers responded to the scene and took Hooks into custody; he was found with a large amount of cash that was later identified as the same money stolen from the bank, according to Iozzi. An employee of the bank identified Hooks and said he removed the black shirt he was wearing during the robbery; the shirt was found on a wooded footpath off Tally Road.

Hooks was arrested for second degree bank robbery and his booking information was not available at press time.

Hook was arrested in 2017 for robbing a Wells Fargo in Lady Lake; according to Sumter County Clerk of Court online docket information, he pleaded no contest and was released in March 2022. The documents in that case were not available at press time, it is unclear what sentence he received and why the case was in Sumter County.

Scroll to Top