U Can Touch This: Portland Police Arrest "Hammer Pants Bandit"

Weston Miner Rodgers, arrested in connection with three bank robberies, continues the great Portland tradition of awesomely named robbers.

Who can forget the "Hipster Bandit" and the "Where's Waldo Bank Robber"?

Weston, 46, is dubbed the "Hammer Pants Bandit," but not because he wore M.C. Hammer's signature balloon-crotch pants. Rather, police say he used a hammer to simulate a gun and he kept it up his sleeve.

Why the name "Hammer Pants Bandit," then?

"He had a hammer and he wore pants," Portland Police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson tells WW in an email. "'Hammer sleeve' doesn't have that same zeal."

Portland police say they arrested Weston Thursday, and say he was involved in robberies on three dates: Oct. 29, 2012, at the Wells Fargo Bank branch  at 1900 Southwest 5th Avenue in Portland; Feb. 8, at the Key Bank branch  at 6620 Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway; and Feb. 19, at the Umpqua Bank branch at 6610 Cardinal Lane in Tigard.

Maybe Weston thought he was "2 Legit 2 Quit" until investigators served a search warrant to "Turn This Mutha Out" at Rogers' residence in the 8100 block of Southeast Aspen Summit Drive.

Simpson says in one of the robberies, Rogers indicated he had an explosive device and in the other two he used a hammer to simulate a firearm.

Rogers was booked into the Multnomah County Jail and will face Federal Bank Robbery charges.

WWeek 2015

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