Multiple bank robbers have been arrested and charged federally, announced David Bowdich, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, and Stephanie Yonekura, the United States Attorney in Los Angeles.
In one case, a Newport Beach man was arrested for bank robbery after being identified as the suspect in a series of bank robberies linked to the "Rolled Sleeves" Bandit. Damian Loren Newhart, 38, of Newport Beach, was taken into custody in Inglewood, California, on Jan. 29 by officers with the Santa Monica Police Department who were acting on a tip developed through a joint investigation. Following news coverage of the alleged Rolled Sleeves Bandit earlier this week, investigators received multiple tips with information.
Newhart was charged in a federal criminal complaint filed this afternoon with a robbery that occurred in Santa Monica on Jan. 14. The complaint further details Newhart's suspected involvement in multiple robberies in other cities.
The joint investigation was conducted by the Santa Monica Police Department; the Huntington Beach Police Department; the Hermosa Beach Police Department; the Manhattan Beach Police Department; the Orange County Sheriff's Department; and the FBI. Newhart was turned over to federal custody this morning. He had initial appearance before a federal magistrate in United States District Court on Jan. 30 and was remanded to federal custody. A preliminary hearing was set for Friday, Feb. 13.
The Rolled Sleeves Bandit was given the nickname after he was seen by witnesses and in bank surveillance photos with his shirt sleeves rolled up in the initial robberies. During the robberies, the Rolled Sleeves Bandit allegedly advised tellers he was conducting bank business before allegedly threatening a gun and demanding cash.
In the second case, Gregory Lynn Cross, 58, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury today with three counts of bank robbery. Cross was arrested earlier this month by deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Cross was turned over to FBI Agents who had issued an arrest warrant for him last month and were seeking his whereabouts.
Newhart and Cross will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
Additional information about bank robbers currently wanted by the FBI's Los Angeles Division in its 7-county territory can be found at www.labankrobbers.org.
