‘Beardo’ suspect charged in 7 counts for bank robberies

EVERETT — The man police dubbed “Beardo” was charged Friday with seven counts of first-degree robbery.

Christian N. Franzwa, 57, allegedly robbed banks after receiving eviction notices for not paying rent at his Casino Road apartment. The robberies started in June and ended in December, and reportedly netted more than $32,300 altogether. The Beardo nickname came from the robber wearing a fake beard and mustache to obscure his face.

Police had been monitoring Franzwa for weeks before his Feb. 12 arrest, at one point seeking a court order to place an electronic tracking device on his car. When arrested, he reportedly had a handgun in his pocket plus parts of the “Beardo” disguise.

Prosecutors on Friday asked a Snohomish County Superior Court judge to raise Franzwa’s bail from $750,000.

“In some instances, the defendants robbed the same victims two or more times,” prosecutors wrote. “The defendant is clearly a danger to the community and the highest precaution should be taken.”

Franzwa is a nine-time felon who was in state prison from November 1999 to June 2001. His felony convictions, all from the late 1990s, are for a mix of prescription forgery, theft and trafficking in stolen property. He also has 11 misdemeanors as an adult, half of which are for driving offenses.

Franzwa’s criminal history is split between Snohomish and King counties.

He has been sued in the past by landlords for failing to pay rent, court records show. His most recent landlord told police that every time she sent him an eviction notice, he would come through with a money order for the full amount.

Surveillance video footage was pulled from Fred Meyer that reportedly showed Franzwa buying the money orders with “large stacks of cash totaling thousands of dollars,” according to the charges.

“The timing of these eviction notices corresponded to when bank robberies would subsequently occur,” prosecutors wrote.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.