Surveillance photos of alleged ‘Chatty Bandit’ released
Law enforcement officers today were searching for a man they say has robbed three South Orange County banks in the last month.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department today released bank surveillance photographs of a suspect dubbed the “Chatty Bandit,†who they say has robbed banks in Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Lake Forest.
The suspect earned his nickname because he entered each of the banks while talking on a cellphone, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
In a robbery Friday at a Wachovia Bank on El Toro Road in Lake Forest, the suspect displayed a semiautomatic handgun in his waistband before escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The surveillance photographs are so clear that “he’s going to get caught quickly,†Amormino said.
The gunman is described as African American, in his 20s or 30s, and about 6-foot-1 with a slim build. Anyone with information should contact Steve Torres of the FBI’s bank robbery investigations team at (714) 542-8825.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
