San Mateo: ‘Big Man Bandit’ arrested at off-track betting site, police say
The “Big Man Bandit,” a 300-pound serial bank robber who evaded arrest for weeks, was finally taken into custody outside an off-track betting site in San Mateo, authorities said Monday.
Gregory Alan Vaughan, 50, of Daly City, admitted to being responsible for five bank robberies throughout San Mateo and the Bay Area, according to the San Mateo Police Department. He was reportedly arrested about 12:45 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Jockey Club, at 2495 S. Delaware St., after a San Mateo police officer recognized Vaughn’s gold Cadillac as matching the description of the getaway vehicle in the robberies. The officer then called for backup after spotting the car.
When Vaughan returned to his car from the Jockey Club, an offtrack site for betting on horse races, officers approached and took him into custody.
In addition to surveillance footage of the robberies, Vaughan reportedly provided a statement to police admitting he held up five banks in the month of March. Three of the robberies occurred in San Mateo, one was in San Jose and another took place in Campbell, police said.
Vaughan allegedly handed the teller at each bank a note that demanded money and claimed he had a gun.
He was booked into San Mateo County Jail on a first-degree robbery charge and is being held on a $300,000 bail. He will appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.