Robber still on the loose

A man suspected of brazenly robbing the same bank in Huntington Beach five times hit a Fountain Valley bank for the fourth time Wednesday. He continues to stump authorities, despite sticking up the same teller twice, entering the bank while a surveillance-camera photograph of him hung on the frontdoor and escaping more than once on a bicycle.

Originally referred to as the Toothless Bandit after witnesses said he was missing some teeth, the robber has earned the new Five Times Bandit nickname in Huntington Beach after the handful of times he’s struck the same Union Bank branch at 8899 Adams Ave., police said.

In Fountain Valley, he’s known as the Just Another Guy or JAG Bandit, after robbing the Orange County Teachers Federal Credit Union four times since May, Huntington Beach police Det. Jim Allard said.

Allard linked his robbery suspect to the Fountain Valley bandit Wednesday after receiving surveillance photos from the FBI.

“I looked at the description and photos and said, ‘OK, this is my guy,’ ” Allard said. Police planned to circulate fliers in surrounding neighborhoods Wednesday night as they’ve done over the last several months.

“We want this guy bad,” he said.

The bandit, who also seems to have had some dental work done between the first Huntington Beach robbery and the second, hits the bank sometime in the early morning, always before noon, Allard said.

The suspect has been described as white, 40 to 50 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 150 to 180 pounds, balding or closely shaven with gray hair. He has also been described as having both green eyes and blue, possibly with freckles, and although the descriptions vary, tellers who have witnessed more than one of the bandit’s hold-ups were sure it was the same man every time.

He often wears some type of glasses, dark jackets and hats to disguise his identity.

He gives tellers demand notes stating, “I have a gun, I will shoot! Give me all your 100s, put them in an envelope,” or “This is a robbery; give me all the 100s you have.” But he has never shown a weapon.

During the first four robberies, he claimed to have a gun, but at the latest robbery on Dec. 1, the note said there was a bomb in the lobby, police said.

“He’s aggressive, he will use bad language and quickly get out,” Allard said.

The robber has hit the bank on Aug. 31, 2005; Sept. 22, 2005; Nov. 28, 2005; and March 17, 2006.

“The problem is he hits so sporadically,” he said.

Police ask that anyone with information call detectives at (714) 536-5962 or (714) 536-5947.