A man accused of robbing a Columbia Pike bank last week is also suspected of trying to rob a bank in Alexandria the day before.

Steve Jamal Smith has a history of attempted heists, court records show. He was convicted back in 2017 of unsuccessfully trying to rob two banks on the same day.

On Feb. 24 — less than 24 hours before he was arrested in the bank robbery on the Pike — Smith had handed a teller at Alexandria’s John Marshall Bank a deposit slip “with various denominations of currency written on it,” a federal affidavit states.

After the teller at the Alexandria bank decided to “play dumb,” Smith reportedly left empty-handed.

The following day, police responded to the Wells Fargo Bank at 951 S. George Mason Drive after Smith, wearing the same clothing as the day before, allegedly demanded money from another teller.

Smith handed the Arlington teller a deposit slip reading, “100, 50, 20, 10, now. This is something I have to do,” according to court documents.

Smith reportedly left the bank before police arrived, having obtained $711. He was apprehended at a neighboring business “approximately three to five minutes” later, thanks to a GPS tracker concealed between two bills, court documents say.

Police say Smith confessed to the crime when they confronted him.

“I need money, and they gave me money,” he allegedly told detectives.

Smith’s history of trying to rob from banks spans the region.

In November 2017, he was found guilty of conspiracy to rob two banks in D.C. and Maryland on the same day.

According to court records, Smith and a co-conspirator entered a bank in Northwest D.C. on Jan. 26, 2016, and presented a demand note to a teller. They did not receive any money before leaving the bank and riding Metro to Maryland.

The two men proceeded to enter a bank in Silver Spring, Md., where they also handed a demand note to a teller. Again, they left the bank empty-handed.

Smith was originally sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. However, he violated the terms of his probation and didn’t finish serving his sentence until October 2024, according to court records.

As of Tuesday, Smith was housed in the Arlington County Detention Facility. The case has since been dropped by Arlington’s Commonwealth Attorney’s Office in favor of prosecution at the federal level.

In the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, he faces one count of bank robbery. The federal charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.