A veteran NYPD detective who was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action and the Purple Heart for fighting in Vietnam has been robbing banks during past months.

The 50-year-old Athelson Kelson of Jamaica, Queens, was usually wearing sunglasses, a cap and a very distinguishable ring for which he was nicknamed “the Bling Bandit.” He also was armed during at least two robberies, according to the police report on the matter.

The former detective turned himself in on Thursday afternoon and made his firs court appearance in Queens Criminal Court on Friday where he faced robbery charges. Kelson was a detective for 20 years.

In one of the robberies in which he was involved in July, Kelson entered the Chase Bank branch at 205-02 Linden Boulevard in St. Albans and handed the teller a note in which he said he was armed, but did not want to hurt anybody. So the teller gave him the $600 he demanded, the complaint said.

Kelson was identified by surveillance camera footage and in a lineup as well.

“He did little to cover up his face or identity,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said.

“He had a ring that was identifiable, and that’s how he was picked out,” he added.

However, according to Kelson’s mother, Hilda Kelson, her son may have wanted to commit suicide or be killed because he was diagnosed with liver cancer in June and also had gone through a painful divorce.

"He wanted someone else to do it. He just didn't want to live like that. He just wanted to die," the former cop’s 85-year-old mother said in a phone interview according to New York Daily News.

When asked about this hypothesis, Commissioner Kelly said that the “suicide by cop” theory can’t be excluded.