Not-so-successful serial robber pleads guilty

Ten times in February, Tarik Hooks walked into area banks with plans to rob them.

He succeeded six times. The others, not so much.

Even as FBI agents scrambled to put a name to the guy they saw on surveillance video, Hooks was being scared off by bank employees who were less than responsive to his demands, court filings show.

Two tellers complained that they could not read his handwritten notes. Hooks abandoned a third stickup when he was told he had to show ID to get the money, according to the records, an FBI affidavit, and a prosecutor's memo.

In a fourth bid, Hooks was shooed away by a busy teller who directed him to another window. There, the employee glanced at Hooks' note, but just didn't get it. "What's up?" the teller asked. Hooks could only slink away.

On Monday, Hooks pleaded guilty to the robberies. His case stands out not so much for his methods or take - he netted about $24,000 - but because his spree coincided with a surge in bank heists this year. Through July, Philadelphia had logged 53 bank robberies, its highest pace in five years, FBI data show.

Hooks, 35, sat silently as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Pedro de la Torre recounted the crimes.

U.S. District Judge Berle M. Schiller asked if the details were accurate. "Yes," said Hooks, speaking just above a whisper.

Schiller set sentencing for Nov. 12. Hooks' lawyer, Kevin Mincey, said sentencing guidelines suggest a prison term of at least seven years.

According to court records, Hooks' notes typically were succinct. "No dye packs. No bait money. No alarms. Give up the cash," said one.

Those words netted him $1,350 from a Citizens Bank branch on City Avenue on Feb. 2 and $247 more from a Wells Fargo branch in Lansdowne six days later.

When Hooks presented a similar note at the TD Bank on the 5500 block of Ridge Avenue on Feb. 14, the teller told him he had to show ID, records show.

Miffed, Hooks left and traveled two miles to a Sovereign Bank branch in Bala Cynwyd. There, he handed over his standard note.

But the teller could not decipher his handwriting, so Hooks snatched the paper back. He scrawled a clarification - "this is a robbery" - and pushed it back. He got $8,800 and fled.