Picture of Suspect in 7 Bank Heists Released

Authorities have the picture of a man they believe committed three Ventura County bank robberies in the past month.

The white, 6-foot-1, 175-pound bandit with wavy brown hair is also suspected of committing four robberies in Los Angeles County this year, authorities said.

They also believe that they have his fingerprints and the license plate number of his car.

“This could be it; it could be the golden ring,” FBI Special Agent Brent Robbins said.

The bandit, who appears to be in his 30s, didn’t harm anyone in the holdups, but handed the tellers a similar note, Robbins said.

“He has never shown a weapon, but the verbiage in the notes is violent,” he said. The notes are different, “but you can’t get more exact than the way this guy is phrasing it.”

The man is suspected in the following Ventura County robberies: Hawthorne Savings in Thousand Oaks on Feb. 18, First Western Bank in Simi Valley on March 9 and Los Robles Bank in Camarillo on March 13.

He is also suspected of robbing East West Bank in Tarzana on Feb. 4 and 14, Charter Pacific Bank in Agoura Hills on March 2 and Wells Fargo Bank in Canoga Park on March 9.

Robbins said recent clues may lead to the suspect’s name and residence.

According to Robbins, on March 13, the man is believed to have gone into an Agoura Hills bank that had been robbed once before. Bank personnel became suspicious of a man wearing dark baggy pants, oval sunglasses and a backpack.

They immediately contacted authorities, and the man turned around and walked out, Robbins said. As he drove away, a police car pulling into the parking lot captured the man’s car license plate on video.

Robbins said the video, which needs to be enhanced, could lead to the man’s name and address. He believes that the man is a San Fernando Valley resident.

There have seven bank robberies throughout Ventura County this year, especially in the Conejo Valley.

Robbins said the FBI believes that it is getting a handle on the robberies committed in the past three months. Two were committed by Los Angeles gang members, one by a woman who turned herself in and the other by a woman who is still unidentified.

Robbins said most bandits strike more than once, searching for quick cash to feed drug habits.

Jim Friedl, deputy city manager of Thousand Oaks, said it is reassuring to know that authorities have information that may lead to an arrest.

“There is some comfort in knowing it is just one person who we are closer to identifying and getting behind bars,” he said.