'Ski Bum Bandit' arrested for serial bank robberies, police say


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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A man suspected of committing serial bank robberies was arrested Monday, police said.

Christopher Ryan Huntzinger, 42, was arrested in connection to five bank robberies in Salt Lake County, according to Cottonwood Heights police Sgt. Corbett Ford. Police had nicknamed Huntzinger the "Ski Bum Bandit."

Huntzinger was arrested in the Kaysville area at about 10 p.m. after detectives from the Cottonwood Heights Police Department followed up on new leads from the robberies, Ford said. Investigators believe he has friends in the Kaysville area and was moving between Davis County and Salt Lake County, where he also has family.

He was cooperative with officers at the time of his arrest, Ford said. Huntzinger is currently on probation for DUI and has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, he said.

Ford said it appeared Huntzinger was committing the robberies because he was experiencing financial problems.

Huntzinger has been definitely tied to three active bank robberies in Cottonwood Heights with the help of positive identification in surveillance videos by friends and family, as well as forensics, Ford said.

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Two of the robberies police tied Huntzinger to took place at the same location, he said. Huntzinger robbed the University Federal Credit Union at 7220 S. Highland Dr. on Jan. 24 and March 11, Ford said.

"The interesting thing with that is he went into the same bank on two different occasions and it ended up being the same teller being the victim in both robberies," Ford said. "To be victimized by a crime like that is pretty traumatic and I think that's especially true for the teller at the University of Utah who had it happen twice — I can't even imagine what he's been going through for that."

The third robbery Cottonwood police said they tied Huntzinger to was the Feb. 22 robbery of the Zions Bank at 7015 S. Highland Dr., Ford said. Police believe he is also connected to two other bank robberies in Salt Lake City.

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"I think that his pattern on this was definitely continuing, with the last one we had being on March 11 and the first one that we had being on Jan. 24," Ford said. "It's a safe assumption to think that he was getting comfortable — with a lack of disguise and lack of covering his face — that he was going to be able to continue to do this if he had the need for any more quick money."

Ford said he wants the public to know investigators take these types of crimes very seriously.

"We're going to follow up on every possible lead and tip to try to bring each case to a conclusion and hold people accountable, regardless of how long it takes," he said.

Contributing: Sandra Yi

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