Virginia’s so-called “bird bandit,” who was captured on video toting three parrots shortly after a man was robbed at knifepoint, has now been arrested and charged, police said.
Back in August, the Fairfax County Police Department said a Hispanic man with distinctive tattoos entered a McDonald’s in the Seven Corners area, pulled out a knife and robbed another man of an undisclosed amount of money.
Police called it “strong-armed robbery.”
The suspect was later spotted at a nearby convenience store, but this time he was joined by some feathered friends.
“The suspect can be seen below wearing a black cowboy hat with two parrots, a patterned shirt, and a third parrot on his shoulder,” police said at the time.
He later left the area in a blue Ford SUV.
Police also released surveillance video from the sighting of the parrot perpetrator.
Detectives said a number of tips helped identify the suspect.
Hector Eduardo Rios, 25, of Germantown was eventually charged with robbery and is being held at Fairfax County Adult Detention Center since October.
There’s no word on the status of the parrots — or whether they were responsible for becoming Rios’ stool pigeons.
