Newport Beach bank robbery suspect arrested

A man suspected in bank robberies and attempted heists in Newport Beach was arrested Tuesday in Riverside County.

Newport Beach police said Barry Allan Buydens, 56, of La Quinta is suspected of robbing the US Bank inside the Pavilions supermarket at 2118 Newport Coast Drive on Saturday by handing an employee a note and saying he had a gun.

He also is suspected of handing a teller a similar note at the Bank of America at 500 Newport Center Drive on Monday but leaving without cash, police said.

Later that day, according to police, Buydens left the Citibank at 1100 Newport Center Drive after employees activated an alarm. The employees recognized him through information police had shared with area banks, authorities said.

Police said they tried to stop Buydens as he drove a 2019 black Mercedes-Benz but lost him on the northbound 73 Freeway in Costa Mesa.

Newport Beach detectives, with assistance from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, arrested Buydens in La Quinta on Tuesday morning on suspicion of robbery, attempted robbery and felony evading and on an outstanding warrant in connection with a May 2018 robbery at a Bank of America at 21171 Newport Coast Drive.

Anyone with information about the case can call Newport Beach police Det. Michael Fletcher at (949) 644-3779.

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