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Suspected Bank Robber Caught After 3 Carjacking Attempts, Failed Bicycle Getaway

SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A bank robbery suspect is in custody Thursday afternoon after police say he robbed a bank, then tried to carjack three motorists before commandeering a bicycle.

Roberto Guillermo Dorantes, 36, was arrested Thursday after robbing a Bank of the West branch, 3900 S. Bristol St., at about noon, police said.

FBI agents say Dorantes was armed with a steak knife and wore a blue UCLA baseball cap backwards when he demanded money from the teller in Spanish. The teller complied, passing him money that had a dye pack hidden inside.

bike bank robber
Police say Roberto Guillermo Dorantes, 36, was positively identified by a carjacking suspect and as a robber by a bank teller. (credit: CBS)

The dye pack exploded as Dorantes allegedly tried to carjack Shvone Murray.

"He had the knife in one hand, and he had money that was smoking and had red ink all over it in the other hand," Murray said.

Dorantes allegedly tried to carjack two more motorists before robbing a man of his bike.

Santa Ana police officers caught up with Dorantes at a second crime scene, where the man whose bike was commandeered and a bystander took him down, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.

Police say the bank teller and the carjacking victims positively identified Dorantes.

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(©2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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