Exclusive details: Army reservist accused of robbing same bank twice in less than a month - and his uniform did him in

Independent

01-08-2025

A 25-year-old Army reservist, former correctional officer and failed school board candidate is accused of robbing the same South Florida bank twice in less than a month – and it was his own military uniform, in large part, that gave him away.
Christopher A. Borchardt targeted a USF Credit Union branch just 1,500 feet from the Sarasota apartment where he was living with a pair of unsuspecting strangers who had recently rented him a room via Facebook Marketplace, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed Thursday.
Borchardt had no car, no credit or debit cards, and didn't appear to have a regular job, but he was known to neighbors as a 'flashy guy' who 'likes to brag about owning luxury items like a Rolex watch,' the affidavit states.
One tenant of the Sierra Park complex told FBI investigators that Borchardt had asked him to recommend a good tattoo artist, 'as he wanted to get a new tattoo on either his neck or throat and was unconcerned with the cost of the tattoo,' it says.
And while Borchardt complained to roommates Rebekah Harwell and Desmond Johnson that finances were tight, he arrived home one day with a large stack of $100 bills that he proudly fanned out on the kitchen counter, according to the affidavit.
Johnson, who described Borchardt's stash to the FBI as 'rapper money,' thought it was unusual that Borchardt refused to leave the apartment for an entire week in July – which he didn't know at the time was the period immediately following the second alleged bank robbery. On July 25, when law enforcement descended on the Sienna Park apartment complex, agents connected the dots for Johnson, he said Friday.
'It was insane, I'm still trying to process all of it because it just happened last week,' Johnson, 22, told The Independent. 'I noticed there was something weird when there was a damn helicopter roaming around, like, hovering right there above us. When I went downstairs to get my car, the FBI comes at me. They asked me about my roommate Chris, and they showed me the photos. I'm like, 'Dog, what was you thinking?''
The apartment is 'right next to the bank, it's less than a minute walk away,' Johnson said, adding, 'Did you really think you were gonna get away with that? Have a plan, come on.'
Borchardt, who is presently in the Sarasota County Jail awaiting an August 21 court appearance, does not yet have an attorney listed in court records and was unable to be reached.
The first heist went down at around noon on June 20, when a tall man in blue jeans, black T-shirt, black sunglasses, black shoes and a black beanie walked into the USF Credit Union on Sarasota's Clark Road, according to the FBI affidavit.
After entering the branch, the man handed a teller a note demanding $7,000, the affidavit continues. It says that when the teller attempted to stall and alert her coworkers to what was happening, the man 'became very anxious and aggravated,' and said he would shoot her if she didn't hurry up. Once the teller handed over the cash, the man ran away, the affidavit states.
Deputies from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office canvassed the area, and heard from a witness who said they saw someone matching the suspect's description walk into the Sienna Park apartments shortly after the robbery.
On July 18, the same USF Credit Union branch was robbed again. This time, a bank employee recognized the suspect as the same person from the June 20 robbery, according to the affidavit. Although it was a 91-degree day in Sarasota, the man wore a full Army camo uniform with long sleeves, a hat and tan combat boots, the affidavit states.
He approached a teller and demanded $8,000, the affidavit alleges, noting that the suspect then 'reached behind his back as if he were going to draw a concealed weapon.' But before the teller could hand over any loot, the man reached over the counter and grabbed $2,500 before again running away toward the Sierra Park apartments, according to the affidavit.
Witnesses told sheriff's deputies that they had seen a man in an Army uniform shortly after the bank robbery, hiding in the bushes behind a private home adjacent to the Sierra Park complex, the affidavit contends. Surveillance footage from a building in the vicinity showed the man walking into Sierra Park at roughly 2:40 p.m., which was immediately after police were notified of the robbery, according to the affidavit.
It says officers showed pictures of the suspect to Sierra Park residents, one of whom said they had previously seen the man at the complex's pool with Desmond Johnson, who lived in an apartment on the second floor. The resident identified him as 'Chris,' and said they had also seen him wearing an Army uniform in the past, the affidavit states. Investigators perused Johnson's Facebook friends and soon homed in on Borchardt as the 'Chris' they were looking for, according to the affidavit.
'Official government records revealed that Borchardt is a current U.S. Army reserve member,' the affidavit says. 'Borchardt held the rank of Specialist in the E-4 paygrade. In the July 18, 2025, robbery, surveillance footage from USFCU captured the suspect wearing a Specialist/E-4 rank insignia on his Army uniform.'
A further review of open-source records showed that Borchardt – who in April ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the District 307 School Board in Bradley, Illinois – had previously served as a corrections officer in the state, according to the affidavit.
The FBI searched the apartment where Borchardt had been living for the past six weeks. There, they found credit cards and a law enforcement training certificate bearing his name, a U.S. Army patch, a pair of tan combat boots and a camo Army uniform and hat, all of which the suspect wore to the second bank robbery. Agents also located a pair of black shoes identical to the ones worn by the suspect during the first bank robbery, the affidavit states.
Harwell, Borchardt's other roommate, told the FBI that she and Johnson needed a third roommate after their previous roommate moved out, and that they posted an ad on Facebook Marketplace to find one, according to the affidavit. Following an introductory video call with Borchardt, he moved in on June 8, paying $900 a month for the main bedroom, it says.
Things immediately seemed odd, as Borchardt refused to send the rent money through Zelle or another online service, but would instead give cash to Johnson, who would deposit the money into his bank account, then transfer the money electronically to Harwell, who would pay the landlord, the affidavit states. Johnson, for his part, told FBI agents that the arrangement 'frustrated and annoyed' him, and that Borchardt's behavior over the past several days had struck him as exceptionally strange.
'Johnson thought it was unusual that Borchardt had not left the apartment for the entire week after the July 18, 2025, USFCU robbery,' the affidavit asserts. 'During this same timeframe… Borchardt asked Johnson to leave and go buy him beer, which Johnson believed was odd because the store is within walking distance of the apartment.'
On July 25, amid heavy police activity outside the apartment complex, Johnson became curious and stepped outside to see what was going on, according to the affidavit.
It says this made Borchardt extremely nervous and told a confused Johnson not to leave, which he ignored. After Johnson returned, Borchardt 'was tense and quiet for a long time afterwards,' the affidavit states.
Borchardt was arrested the same day, and is now facing two federal counts of bank robbery, each of which carry a potential 20-year prison term.
'I asked him, 'Why'd you do it?'' Johnson told The Independent. 'It didn't make sense to me at all.'
He never got an answer.
Johnson was willing to talk about Borchardt and his thoughts on the case, saying on Friday, 'I'm not afraid to share. I'm not going to be seeing that guy ever again.'