The Wrong Slip Bandit is back. And he's still targeting Bank of the West.
Sources tell Crime Scene that the bandit pictured on the left hit the Bank of the West on Durfee Road in South El Monte Monday afternoon.
He took an undisclosed amount of cash. But no doubt he had another picture taken for the inevitable court case. We profiled this guy in July, about the time the FBI unveiled their LA bank robbery website.
Here's a story from Whittier reporter Ruby Gonzales that ran back then:
He fills out a withdrawal slip, stands in line and even subjects himself to being questioned by tellers. But the only true thing on the slip is the amount he wants.
Dubbed "the Wrong Slip Bandit" by the FBI, this robber has struck Bank of the West locations in Pico Rivera, Commerce, Downey and South El Monte within the past three months. Authorities want help in finding him before he makes another unauthorized withdrawal.
"He pretends to be there for bank business," said FBI Special Agent Erik Arbuthnot.
Arbuthnot said the bandit's only robbed Bank of the West and always uses a savings withdrawal slip.
Because the bandit writes a bogus account number on the slip, tellers have asked him for identification and even an address. Sometimes he has to make his intentions clear to the victims.
After being asked for an ID, the bandit finally showed his hand.
"He said,`You don't understand. You're getting robbed. I have a gun. Give me the money,"' Arbuthnot said.
CHP officers may have saved a box full of kittens from burning to death in a flaming SUV in South El Monte near Rooks Road and Peck, officials said -- or did they.