Police seek public’s help finding ‘L.A.’ bank bandit
Police are asking for help tracking down a man dubbed the “L.A. Bandit,” who is wanted for five bank robberies across three Ontario cities last spring.
Toronto police released security images of the man at several banks. In one of the images, the man is wearing a blue Los Angeles Dodgers baseball hat — the source of his nickname.
Acting Insp. Lauren Pogue, of the Toronto police hold-up squad, said the bandit’s method was the same every time: He would approach the counter and ask for money while indicating that he had a gun, she said, although no gun was seen at any of the robberies.
The five robberies occurred between April 7 and May 26, alternating between a Toronto bank and other locations.
At the first robbery, near Yonge St. and Wellesley St. W., video shows the man entering an RBC branch wearing his Dodgers hat, dark sunglasses and a scarf around the lower half of his face.
The second robbery was in Newcastle, on April 12; the third was near the Bloor St. W. and Spadina Ave. area on May 16; the fourth in London, Ont., on May 18; and the fifth near Kingston Rd. and Victoria Park Ave. on May 26.
“It was a very short duration that all of these robberies were committed,” Pogue said.
A key detail is a vehicle the suspect used after the London robbery — the only time he was seen using a vehicle. The car is described as a white, two-door 2014-2016 Mercedes CLA.