A bumbling thief who made the critical mistake of failing to properly attach his disguise faces up to 30 years in prison for a string of armed robberies and an attempted carjacking in Foster City, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Prosecutors believe a crime spree by Tyler Redick, 20, began and ended Friday, when he and two accomplices allegedly robbed four people at gunpoint. The victims, who were all in their 20s, were sitting in their cars, Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

During one of the robberies, the bandanna over Redick’s face slipped down due to being tied too loosely, Wagstaffe said. The victim reportedly recognized the lifelong Foster City resident as a former teammate in a youth sports league.

“It’s a big world out there. You would think he’d go to some other city, but Mr. Redick obviously missed that training class in robbery school,” Wagstaffe said.

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Redick is also charged with trying to carjack one of the victims.

“He told the victim to get out of the car and the person started yelling and screaming,” Wagstaffe said. “Our defendant decided not to continue with the effort.”

The victim who recognized Redick called Foster City police and gave them his name. Officers searched Redick’s home, where he lives with his family, and allegedly found both the gun and the bandanna.

Redick remains in San Mateo county jail on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to enter a plea next week. His two alleged accomplices are still at large.

He is charged with four counts of robbery, one count of attempted carjacking, wearing a mask while committing a robbery, and special allegations of using a gun. The firearm allegation effectively triples the potential sentence, Wagstaffe said.

tbarak@sfexaminer.com