Feds: Brighton man charged as serial bank robber is nabbed as he tries to board plane in DC for Johannesburg

Albert Taderera, 36, who faces charges for up to 16 bank robberies in the Boston area, was arrested this afternoon as he tried to board a plane for Johannesburg at Dulles Airport, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports.

Taderera went on a bank-robbing spree over a two-year period starting in February, 2015, the US Attorney's office says:

In most of the robberies, the robber was disguised in a dark hooded sweatshirt, dark face mask/sunglasses covering his face, dark gloves and dark clothing. In each of the banks, the robber entered the bank and made verbal demands for the banks’ money. In most of the robberies, the robber displayed what tellers described as a black semi-automatic handgun.

All of the robberies occurred in suburban settings where banks were freestanding and featured adjacent wooded areas or foliage. In many of these robberies, witnesses observed the robber leaving the bank following the robbery, and entering the wooded areas. Witnesses also observed the robber run toward, enter into, and then leave the area in a black BMW sedan. Based on these similarities, the FBI believed that the individual driving the black BMW was responsible for the robberies.

According to the feds, investigators got word today that Taderera planned to fly to Dulles from Boston, then fly to Addis Ababa at 11 a.m. today. But then investigators learned he'd switched to a flight at 5:45 p.m. to Johannesburg. Federal agents grabbed him as he tried to get on that plane, officials say.

Taderera is scheduled for an appearance in a federal court in Virginia before being returned here for arraignment on armed bank robbery charges.

Innocent, etc.