Bank robbery charges filed against ‘AK-47 bandit’ suspect

Robbery charges have been filed in Nebraska against a man suspected of being the “AK-47 bandit,” who investigators believe robbed banks in five states. Court records show 39-year-old Richard Gathercole was indicted Tuesday for an August 2014 bank robbery in Nebraska City, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Omaha. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call Wednesday from The Associated Press. FBI officials have been looking for years for the man they believe robbed banks in California, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska and Washington state typically while carrying an AK-47 rifle. Gathercole, of Montana, was arrested June 20 near Lexington, Nebraska, after a sheriff’s deputy spotted a pickup truck that Kansas authorities had reported stolen by a man who fired at a state trooper. Gathercole also faces weapons charges.