Surveillance photo of ‘Burgundy Bandit.”

SAN DIEGO–Federal and local law enforcement agencies are seeking the public’s assistance to identify a man responsible for a series of robberies in San Diego county.

The FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, along with the San Diego Police Department, El Cajon Police Department and La Mesa Police Department are searching for the suspect accused of nine robberies of local businesses located in San Diego, La Mesa, and El Cajon.

During the robberies, a lone male entered the business and approached an employee of the business. The robber carried a handgun hidden in his waistband and displayed it to the employee. The robber demanded money from the employee, often collecting money from several locations within the business. Upon receipt of money, the robber departed the business on foot.

Investigation has determined that on several occasions, the robber cased the business for approximately five minutes prior to the robbery.

The robber has been dubbed the “Burgundy Bandit” because he wore a burgundy colored sweatshirt and burgundy/black colored pants in several robberies. In an attempt to disguise his appearance, he wore long sleeved shirts and pants, a baseball hat, sunglasses, and gloves.

Witnesses have described the robber as black or Hispanic with a dark complexion, age, mid 40s to early 60s, height approximately 5’8” tall with a medium build, weight: 170 to 180 pounds. His hair is dark gray with a clean cut facial hair. He was seen wearing burgundy colored hoodie and sweatshirt, black or burgundy colored pants, black shoes, black and white gloves, black sunglasses, and black baseball cap.

If you have information regarding the robber, contact: San Diego FBI at (858) 320-1800; www.fbi.gov/tips or San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477; www.sdcrimestoppers.org