The same man is suspected of robbing two Valley Boulevard Bank of America branches in Rosemead and Alhambra in the past two months, FBI officials said Thursday.
The bank robberies tied to the bandit occurred Wendesday in Rosemead and Jan. 23 in Alhambra, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
The robber is a white man of large build with grey hair and a grey mustache who appears to be in his 50s or 60s, Eimiller said.
“They’re calling him the “Golden Years Bandit,” she said.
“In both cases, he used a type-written note that was handed to the teller,” she added.
The notes demanded large bills and threatened violence if the teller did not comply, Eimiller said, though no weapons have been seen during the heists.
The most recent robbery occurred at a Bank of America branch in Rosemead, 8856 East Valley Boulevard, according to sheriff’s and FBI officials.
After using a note to rob a teller, the bandit was last seen fleeing south on Ivar Avenue in a older-model, beige van, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Tom McNeal said.
Witnesses said there may have been another person in the van, though they could five no description.
Eimiller said the note in Wednesday robbery in Rosemead threatened that if anyone followed the robber, the robber’s partner would shoot him.
It was unclear Thursday whether or not the man was working with an accomplice, she said.
Just under two months earlier, the same man is suspected in a similar robbery at the Alhambra Bank of America branch at 444. E Valley Boulevard, Eimiller said.
In that crime, no getaway vehicle was seen, Alhambra police Detective Tai Seki said.
In both cases, the robber passed his demand note and received the cash through bullet-proof glass partitions separating customers from bank employees known as “bandit barriers,” bank surveillance photos provided by the FBI show.
In both robberies, officials declined to release the amount of money stolen. No injuries were reported in either incident.
