OC Serial Bank Robber Strikes For 9th Time In Less Than A Year
LAGUNA NIGUEL (CBSLA.com) — A man suspected as a serial bank robber who has struck nine times this year completed another heist on Monday afternoon, authorities said.
The FBI, which has been tracking the man, suggests he is becoming greedier and more desperate with every robbery.
"No matter what amount of money he gets, it's not enough," FBI agent Christopher Gicking said. "He'll keep going, so that concerns us."
Since January, the robber has struck at nine banks, most recently at 3 p.m. Monday at a US Bank in Laguna Niguel. That robbery took place one hour after the suspect, dubbed the "Hills Bandit," attempted to rob a bank in North San Diego.
"He's got the area around the banks mapped out; he knows where he's going," Gicking said. "That's why I believe he's from the South Orange County area or at least familiar also with the San Diego area, because he knows exactly where he's going."
Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators, as part of the Bank Robbery Apprehension Team, say the bandit wears different ball caps with sports teams. They suggest it is only a matter of time before he strikes again.
"We'd like to get him off the street before someone actually does get hurt," Gicking said.
The Hills Bandit is not the only serial bank robber in Orange County.
Twenty miles north of Laguna Hills, the "Cal Bear" bandit threatened that he had a gun and a bomb, demanding cash at a Bank of America in Costa Mesa on Monday, marking his third heist in three weeks.
Banks are reportedly offering up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the Hills Bandit.
