Man who robbed 2 Lake Tahoe banks going to prison

Known as the “fedora bandit” because of the hat he wore, David Griffith Osborne, 74, pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to three counts of armed robbery.

The former Carson City resident pleaded guilty to robbing the Gridley Bank of the West, Rancho Cordova’s American River Bank, and Paradise’s Chase Bank – all in 2010.

Osborne is scheduled to be sentenced March 29 by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. He faces up to 25 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for each of the three armed bank robberies.

Osborne also admitted to four other bank robberies and will be required to pay restitution for all seven robberies. The other robberies are:

• Bank of the West, 2160 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe, Feb. 18, 2010;

• Bank of the West, 200 Bear Street, Kings Beach, March 9, 2010;

• Bank of the West, 736 Taylorville Road, Grass Valley, Dec. 22, 2009, and March 31, 2010.

For all seven robberies Osborne wore a hat, sunglasses, a fake mustache and goatee, and demanded money while brandishing a firearm.

 — Lake Tahoe News staff report