‘Parka Bandit’ Suspect Arrested

A man suspected of having robbed 19 banks in Southern California, 16 of them in Orange County, was arrested by police Thursday at an Anaheim motel.

The FBI identified the suspect as William Anthony Carpenter, 30, last known to be living in Tustin. He was arrested at 2:50 p.m. at the Anaheim Friendship Inn at 426 W. Ball Road following a police surveillance, authorities said.

FBI agents had nicknamed the robber the Parka Bandit because of the ski parka or vest he occasionally wore.

According to FBI Agent William J. Rehder, the Parka Bandit was the most active bank robber recently operating in Southern California. His string of robberies started last Nov. 12 at the State College Boulevard branch of Anaheim Savings and Loan Assn. in Anaheim, and his most recent was Wednesday at the 17th Street branch of the Bank of America in Santa Ana, Rehder said. The holdups followed the same pattern --presenting a note to a teller demanding money and leaving quietly with the cash. His average take was about $2,000, Rehder said. The bandit was never known to become violent, although some tellers reported seeing a pistol tucked in the bandit’s belt.

Rehder said the FBI received a tip on the bandit’s identity March 21 after his photo, taken by bank surveillance camera, was published in The Times.

The Parka Bandit’s string, while much longer than the six- to eight-robbery average of bank robbers, was far below the record. The FBI credits Edwin Chambers Dodson with pulling 63 holdups in Southern California during 1983 and 1984 before he was convicted and sent to prison.