UPDATE, SEPT. 15, 3:46 P.M.: The FBI was already on the lookout for the man arrested at the end of today's hour-long chase.
“Preliminary investigation shows it was the same individual today as the 'Triple Threat Bandit,'” says FBI spokeswoman Ari Dekofsky.
Today, the man allegedly robbed Farmers and Merchants in Lakewood and El Banco Popular in Fullerton, Dekofsky says, before leading officers on the high-speed chase, which eventually ended in his arrest.
Last month, he allegedly robbed three Orange County banks in less than 90 minutes. First a credit union in Fullerton, then another in Orange and finally a U.S. Bank in Buena Park, according to the FBI's press release about the Aug. 19 robberies that earned him the “Triple Threat Bandit” title.
]
At least two times during the chase the driver tossed cash out the window, says Officer Krystal Carter, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol.
he man eventually surrendered and was arrested around 2 p.m., after traffic in the westbound lanes of Interstate 105 in Hawthorne slowed him down.
ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 15, 2:24 P.M.: An hour-long, high-speed pursuit following a robbery at a Fullerton bank earlier today just ended.
Sgt. Andrew Goodrich, a spokesman with the Fullerton Police Department, told KTLA that a man walked into El Banco Popular on Euclid Street and handed the teller a note demanding money. The man then made off with cash, but Goodrich told KTLA he didn't know how much.
The man fled in a maroon SUV and Fullerton police officers followed him for a while, but California Highway Patrol officers eventually took over, as the driver maneuvered through residential areas and weaved through traffic lanes on different freeways.
A few minutes after 2 p.m. the driver had to stop to avoid hitting other vehicles. Cops surrounded the vehicle and the man eventually got out of the car and was arrested by the officers.
Check back soon for updates.
