Arrested for two bank robberies, suspected in three more

PALM HARBOR -- Each time, the suspect walked into a Palm Harbor bank, showed the teller his gun and demanded cash.

It happened Oct. 27 at the Bank of America at 4000 Lake St. George Dr., detectives say, and it happened again Nov. 9 at the Bank Atlantic.

Today Pinellas County Sheriff's Office detectives arrested a 25-year-old Clearwater man in connection with those hold-ups and declared him a suspect in three other Pinellas County bank robberies.

Charles David Canales was arrested on two counts of armed robbery, according to the Sheriff's Office. His home address is 2918 St. Croix Dr., according to the Sheriff's Office, but deputies arrested him today at a 38th Avenue North home in St. Petersburg.

He was identified thanks to tips from the public, which were generated when photographs of the suspect were made public.

Canales remains a suspect in a Clearwater bank robbery and two more in St. Petersburg, according to the Sheriff's Office, which did not disclose any more information about those robberies.

Canales' bond status was unknown tonight.

-- Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office]