SANTA FE SPRINGS — A man pepper-sprayed and punched a security guard who intervened in a theft Thursday at a Rite Aid store, police said.

A robber — described as a Latino man of about 30 years old, bald and wearing a black T-shirt — entered the store at Norwalk and Washington boulevards about 6:50 p.m., filled a handbasket with merchandise and tried to leave without paying, Whittier police Lt. Randy Inman said.

A store loss prevention officer confronted the thief, who sprayed the officer in the face with paper spray and punched him several times, Inman said.

The robber then ran out of the store with the basket of stolen items and fled in a U-Haul Ford F-150 pickup truck, police said.

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Traffic slowed in Santa Fe Springs early Wednesday after a power line fell across Excelsior Drive, police said.

The downed wire was first reported about 5:15 a.m. in the 13500 block of Excelsior Drive, between Carmenita Road and Marquardt Avenue, Whittier police Lt. Steve Dean said.

No injuries were reported, however police blocked traffic in nearly both directions as utility workers made repairs, the lieutenant said. Traffic lanes were re-opened about 6:40 a.m.

A 38-year-old woman accused of being the a serial bank robber the FBI calls the “Plain Jane Bandit” has made her initial appearance in federal court, officials said.

Sylvia Helen Melendez Garcia, a Compton resident initially described to be a Downey woman by authorities, had an initial appearance Monday in federal court, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

She was charged Monday with a single county of bank robbery, though she is suspected in a total of eight robberies and attempted robberies at banks in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, according to court documents.

Authorities allege Garcia began her serial bank robbery career with heists at U.S. Bank branches in Santa Fe Springs on July 12 and 19. She allegedly went on to rob, or try to rob, banks in Buena Park, Cerritos, Moreno Valley and Wildomar.

Garcia was released from custody on a $75,000 bond Monday after appearing in court, where she did not enter a plea, Eimiller said. A deputy federal public defender was assigned to represent her.

She was ordered back to federal court in Los Angeles for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 27, and for an arraignment Aug. 31, officials said.

PHOTO composite of the ‘Plain Jane Bandit’ bank robber courtesy of the FBI.

A bank is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a female bank robber linked to six heists this month in Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties — including ones in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs.

The “Plain Jane Bandit,” as the FBI is calling her, began her spree of bank robberies July 12 at a U.S. Bank branch at 13372 E. Telegraph Road in Santa Fe Springs, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

She then robbed another U.S. Bank branch in Whittier, 13525 Whittier Blvd., July 19; a Chase bank in Moreno Valley on July 23; a U.S. Bank in Moreno Valley on July 23; a U.S. Bank in Buena Park on July 24 and a U.S. Bank in Wildomar on July 24, FBI and local police officials said.

U.S. Bank, which was the target of five of the six robberies reported in the series, has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the bandit, Eimiller said.

“During the robberies, the suspect uses written and verbal demands and indicates that someone, possible an accomplice, is waiting for her outside the bank,” Eimiller said. A second suspect has not been spotted during the crimes.

Authorities described the “Plane Jane Bandit” as a Latino, in her mid- to late-30s, between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall and about 160 pounds. A dour-door, silver vehicle was also reported by witnesses as a possibly getaway car.

Anyone with information is asked to immediately contact a local FBI office, or call 9-1-1.

PHOTOS courtesy of the FBI

SANTA FE SPRINGS — A La Mirada man lost his arm but was expected to survive after apparently being struck by a freight train early Wednesday, officials said.

Authorities received 9-1-1 calls reporting the incident about 3:50 a.m. near Rosecrans and Marquardt avenues, Whittier police said in a written statement.

The callers reported, “a man bleeding severely and missing an arm,” according to the statement. “When officers arrive, the victim flees the location for unknown reasons and is detained.”

Officials sent the badly injured man to a trauma center, along with his missing arm, Whittier police Lt. Randy Inman said. It was not immediately clear if surgeons would be able to re-attach it.

A train believed to have been involved was located and stopped shortly after the incident in Vernon, Inman said. It was examined before being allowed to continue on its way.

Investigators continued looking in to how the man, who is in his late-20s, ended up on the tracks and apparently in the path of a train.

“A full investigation is pending, but it appears the La Mirada resident was at a bar in Montebello earlier in the evening and was involved in a fight,” the police statement said.

“He was sent to a local hospital for those injuries and fled from the hospital. It is unknown how he got to Santa Fe Springs.”

The incident is being investigated by the Whittier Police Department’s Traffic Bureau.

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Three armed and masked robbers targeted iPads and cell phones Saturday during a takeover robbery at a Verizon store, police said.

Two men and a woman, all wearing hoods and masks, entered the store in the 11700 block of Telegraph Road, just west of Pioneer Boulevard, about 4:30 p.m., Whittier police Lt. Carlos Solorza said. One of the men and one of the women carried handguns.

“They ordered six employees to the ground at gunpoint,” the lieutenant said.

The robbers then went into a back room of the store and stole an unknown number of iPads and Android cell phones, he said.

“They fled out the back door and left in black Dodge Magnum,” Solorza added.

None of the employees were injured during the robbery.

Anyone with information was asked to call Whittier police at 562-567-9200.

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Coroner’s officials Friday released the name of a 73-year-old Santa Fe Springs man killed in a tractor accident at a museum where he volunteered.

Ramon Arthur Gibson was pronounced dead at the scene of the 11 a.m. accident at the Hathaway Ranch and Museum, 11901 Florence Ave., Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.

Gibson was riding a tractor at the museum, where he had volunteered for about a decade, when it overturned and pinned him, according to Whittier police officials. The cause of the accident remained under investigation.

SANTA FE SPRINGS — A 73-year-old nonprofit museum volunteer died Thursday when a tractor he was riding overturned and crushed him, authorities said.

The dead man’s name was not released Thursday. Police described him as a longtime Santa Fe Springs resident who had been volunteering for the Hathaway Ranch and Museum, 11901 Florence Ave., where the accident occurred, for more than a decade.

The deadly accident was reported about 11 a.m., Whittier police Officer Bradley White said in a written statement.

“Apparently, the male involved was riding the tractor on the agricultural site when it tipped over,” White said. Firefighters pronounced him dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation.

The nonprofit museum highlights Santa Fe Springs’ history and showcases oil drilling exhibits, agricultural exhibits and historic artifacts.