CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A 41-year-old Coral Gables attorney is facing federal charges for a series of bank robberies and attempted bank robberies in Coral Gables and Aventura.
FBI agents identified the suspect on Wednesday as Aaron Honaker. Coral Gables police officers arrested him during an attempted bank robbery on Tuesday night, FBI agents said, adding that the ongoing investigation also involves the Aventura Police Department.
According to Wake Forest University Law School’s registrar office, Honaker received his Juris Doctor degree there on Dec. 10, 2005. State records show he was admitted to the Florida Bar on Jan. 31, 2008, and is a member in good standing.
At the beginning of his career, Honaker was recruited by a top international law firm in Brickell and he worked there for about three years. Colleagues at boutique firms in Coral Gables described him as a “highly intelligent” and “brilliant” attorney who is “disciplined” and “sharp.”
“I have no explanation as to how he got to this point,” a former colleague said.
In several professional online profiles, Honaker described himself as a litigator in “all matters related to corporate and commercial relationships." His experience includes implementing a plan of reorganization through a $1.6 billion equity infusion transaction with Merrill Lynch, now Bank of America.
The Florida Bar and a Linkedin profile list Honaker as a Duke Law School graduate, but a spokesman for the university said on Wednesday afternoon that there is no registrar record of him ever being a student there.
On Dec. 10, 2019, officers arrested Honaker for battery after a domestic violence call. He completed pre-trial release conditions and the court issued a discharge certificate on Jan. 8, 2020. About eight months later, FBI agents accused Honaker of targeting four banks in Coral Gables and one in Aventura during a two-week crime spree.
According to Coral Gables Police Chief Edward Hudak, Sgt. Ted Nguyen spotted Honaker on Tuesday outside of a bank in downtown Coral Gables and arrested him before he could “strike again.” Officer Robert Alonso attributed the arrest to Detective Nguyen’s years of experience.
The banks in Coral Gables are the Citibank branch at 396 Alhambra Circle targeted on Sept. 30; a Wells Fargo Bank branch at 2555 Ponce De Leon Blvd. targeted on Oct. 5; the Chase Bank branch at 355 Alhambra Circle targeted on Oct. 10; and the HSBC Bank branch at 2222 Ponce De Leon Blvd. targeted on Oct. 15.
The bank in Aventura is the Chase Bank branch at 20880 Biscayne Blvd., which Honaker is accused of targeting on Oct. 3.
FBI agents are asking anyone with information about the bank robberies to call 754-703-2000.
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