PRINCE GEORGE Co., Va. — The man the FBI dubbed the “Soul Patch Bandit” committed suicide inside Riverside Regional Jail Monday, police sources told our sister station CBS 6.
Artur Kharendzuyk, 25, was in police custody after being accused of robbing six banks located in Henrico, Hanover, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg.
CBS 6 reached out to Riverside Regional Jail about Kharendzuyk’s death, but they said they had no comment at this time.
No other details surrounding his death has been released at this time.
He was also wanted for the murder of his one-year-old son in Newport News. Police there had an arrest warrant for him charging him with second-degree murder.
Kharendzuyk was just arraigned in Petersburg General District Court Monday in connection with a felony charge for using a firearm during a Petersburg robbery.
‘Soul Patch Bandit’ captured
Kharendzuyk is believed to be responsible for several Central Virginia bank robberies:
October 18, 2016 – Wells Fargo Bank in the 80 block of South Airport Drive in Henrico
October 28, 2016 – Wells Fargo Bank in the 8100 block of Mechanicsville Turnpike in Mechanicsville
October 29, 2016 – Wells Fargo Bank in the 5600 block of Brook Road in Henrico
November 7, 2016 – Union Bank & Trust in the 3100 block of Boulevard in Colonial Heights
November 14, 2016 – Wells Fargo Bank in the 1300 block of Gaskins Road in Henrico
The FBI was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the “Soul-Patch Bandit.”
‘Soul Patch Bandit’ was shot by pregnant soldier wife
Artur Kharendzyuk’s wife was pregnant and in the military when she shot him during a 2015 domestic dispute, according to a plea agreement.
Kharendzyuk’s wife, Hannah Bergee, was charged with malicious wounding after she shot him in the chest at their Norfolk home in February 2015, according to court documents.
She was convicted in September.
According to Bergee’s plea agreement, the couple “began to have marital problems over issues of trust and [Kharendzyuk’s] belief that the defendant was being unfaithful.”
Both were members of the United States Army when they married in October 2014.
Kharendzyuk was kneeling putting his clothes away in his overnight bag preparing to leave their apartment when Bergee pulled out a gun and pointed it at his head.
“She said she ‘was going to kill him and was going to get in trouble for this but did not care,’” the plea agreement stated. “She pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger but the gun jammed. She unjammed the gun, pulled the trigger again and shot him in the chest.”
Kharendzyuk was rushed to a nearby hospital where he sustained permanent disability of his right arm resulting in a medical discharge from the Army.
Related:
‘Soul Patch Bandit’ arrested, wanted for murder of 1-year-old son in Newport News
