Miami attorney arrested as serial bank robbery suspect

The FBI says Aaron Honaker, 41, shown here in his Florida Bar photo, is a serial bank robber. [ Miami Herald ]

A Miami attorney was called a “serial bank robber” by the FBI, which believes he robbed five banks since Sept. 30 before his Tuesday night arrest.

Coral Gables police said a detective driving in the downtown area Tuesday evening spotted 41-year-old Aaron Honaker and took him into custody as he was on his way into a bank.

Honaker, who is represented by the federal public defender’s office, had his first appearance in federal magistrate court in Miami Wednesday and remains in custody. Federal prosecutors are seeking to detain Honaker before trial, and a bond hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Honaker was charged by a criminal complaint, which means prosecutors will have to show they have probable cause to move forward with their case against him. If a judge makes that finding, then the U.S. Attorney’s Office will seek a grand jury indictment charging him with the Coral Gables bank robberies -- most likely in November, when the grand jury reconvenes after being shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If he’s indicted, Honaker would then be arraigned and enter his plea.

While neither the FBI nor Coral Gables police named where Honaker was arrested, the FBI did list what it alleges were Honaker’s previous five robbery stops:

▪ Sept. 30 — Citibank, 396 Alhambra Cir., Coral Gables

▪ Oct. 3 — Chase, 20880 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura

▪ Oct. 5 — Wells Fargo, 2555 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables

▪ Oct. 10 — Chase, 355 Alhambra Cir., Coral Gables;

▪ Thursday — HSBC, 2222 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables

The FBI releases describing the thefts on Sept. 30, Oct. 5 and Thursday stated the robber demanded money from the tellers. No weapon was mentioned.

ONLINE REALITY VS. TANGIBLE REALITY

Honaker’s online profiles seem to be partially online masquerades.

Both his LinkedIn page and Florida Bar profile say he’s with the Coral Gables-based firm of Martinez Morales. But a Wednesday afternoon email to the Miami Herald from name partner Raul Morales said Honaker disappeared two years ago and never returned to work. Morales said he’s since tried to get his firm’s name removed from Honaker’s Bar profile.

Photo released by the FBI of the Oct. 15 robbery at an HSBC bank branch in Coral Gables. The FBI believes this was Aaron Honaker. [ Miami Herald ]

Similarly, both places claim he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 2006. An email from Duke University to the Miami Herald said there’s no record that Aaron Honaker ever went there. Other places, including a Wake Forest University alumni page, say he graduated from Wake Forest School of Law.

Honaker’s LinkedIn page also says he worked at Greenberg Traurig from 2006-2011, which the firm said Wednesday was actually 2008 to 2011. Before Martinez Morales, Honaker was one of the first attorneys at newly formed Salazar Jackson in 2012. The firm, now known as Salazar Law, still has a piece of the South Florida Business Journal article mentioning Honaker on its website.

Those are the only three employers mentioned on Honaker’s detailed LinkedIn profile.

A Jacksonville Daily Record brief from 2006 announces his and another associate’s hiring at Stutsman, Thames & Markey, a work stop some of his profiles list. Another database said he was at Bilzen Sumberg in 2008 and 2011. Other profiles say he worked for Infante Zumpano in 2012.

--By David J. Neal Miami Herald. Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this report.

 

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Miami attorney arrested as serial bank robbery suspect