Bank Robber Suspected in Murrieta-area Hold-Ups Strikes in OC Tuesday

A serial bank robber known as the "Stick Figure Bandit'' who may have struck the Chase Bank on Scott Road in Murrieta on Jan. 22 is believed to have struck again in Orange County today.

The tall, lanky suspect held up the Schools First Federal Credit Union branch in Aliso Viejo around 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The robber, who made off with an undisclosed amount of cash, is also suspected of robbing a Wells Fargo branch in a Stater Bros. store in Placentia last Thursday.

The bandit may be linked to other recent heists in Riverside County, said FBI Spokeswoman Laura Eimiller today.

In the Murrieta robbery, the bandit was described as 20-25 years old, slender and wearing aviator sunglasses and a gray beanie, Eimiller said.

"The bandit ordered the teller to 'calm down' and 'hurry up.' His note said, 'This is a robbery,'" she said.

During the other robberies, the bandit similarly ordered the victim teller to "hurry up" and indicated victim would get hurt if tellers did not comply, Eimiller said.

Federal agents are examining evidence from the four robberies in Riverside County to determine whether the same person is responsible. The heists occurred at:

-- Jan. 7 at a Chase Bank branch on State Street in San Jacinto;

-- Jan. 22 at a Chase Bank branch on Scott Road in Murrieta;

-- Jan. 24 at a Wells Fargo branch on Newport Road in Menifee; and

-- Jan. 25 at a U.S. Bank branch on Clinton Keith Road in Wildomar.

"The suspect (in those robberies) bears some resemblance to the Stick Figure Bandit,'' Eimiller said. "The M.O. and witness descriptions are similar.''

The suspect in the Aliso Viejo heist was described as a white man in his 20s to 30s, 6-foot-1 and about 170 pounds. He was wearing a checkered shirt and baseball cap. Eimiller said the descriptions varied only slightly in the Riverside County hold-ups, with the man generally described as white, between 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-3, slender and sometimes wearing a beanie.

Anyone with information about his identity or whereabouts was urged to call the FBI at 310- 477-6565.

City News Service contributed to this report.