Beretta Bandit Serial Robber Convicted of 7 Counts

Tampa, Florida – In a case that has left the Tampa community shaken, a federal jury has found Richard Allen Randolph (44, Youngstown, Ohio) guilty of seven counts, including five counts of Hobbs Act robberies, one count of attempted robbery, and one count of discharging a firearm during the commission of the robberies.

Randolph faces a minimum statutory penalty of 100 years in federal prison on the firearm counts and a maximum of 20 years on each of the robbery counts. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 30, 2024.

According to evidence presented at trial, Randolph entered four Tampa commercial businesses between January 27 and February 26, 2020, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and facial covering. During each of the robberies, Randolph brandished and threatened the victims with a Beretta Pico pistol and removed cash from the registers.

During the attempted robbery on February 26, 2020, Randolph again concealed his identity, entered the store, and threatened the clerk with the firearm. However, the victim’s boyfriend, who was outside the store waiting to take her home, confronted Randolph. Randolph then discharged the pistol twice in the parking lot of the business as the victims fled. Law enforcement recovered the bullet casing from the parking lot.

The case remained active and under investigation under the name “Beretta Bandit” as no subject was able to be identified. It wasn’t until July 2021, when the Collier County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of an individual who was found to have a Beretta Pico pistol in his car. The individual did not match the description of the robber and told law enforcement that he had purchased the Beretta Pico pistol from Randolph, who was a former co-worker.

Forensic examiners from the ATF laboratory later determined that the Beretta pistol was the firearm involved in the last robbery committed by Randolph. During trial, the victims testified about their terror during the robberies committed by Randolph. However, they could not identify Randolph because he was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a mask.

The evidence at trial focused on the recovered Beretta Pico pistol, the testimony of the co-worker, the forensic analyses from the ATF laboratory in Atlanta, and other location data analyses by the FBI. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Tampa Police Department, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Maria Guzman and Brooke Padgett. This case is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.