Search is on for Whitewashed Bandit after bank robberies in Irvine and elsewhere

Police and the FBI are searching for a man dubbed the Whitewashed Bandit who robbed Irvine and Anaheim banks Tuesday and might be connected to three area robberies over the past week.

Irvine police officers responded about 3 p.m. to reports of a robbery at the East West bank branch in the 99 Ranch Market at 5402 Walnut Ave.

The man entered the bank, walked up to the teller and demanded an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. He then fled on foot.

The man was carrying a gun during the robbery, but didn’t fire it. No injuries were reported.

There were customers inside the market and bank at the time, said Ari DeKofsky, public affairs specialist for the FBI.

The man is thought to be in his 40s and was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, gray Converse shoes and a white fedora-style hat, police said.

The FBI believes the man is a suspect they have dubbed the Whitewashed Bandit, who also is suspected of robbing a bank in Anaheim on Tuesday and is wanted in connection with three area bank robberies last week, DeKofsky said.

Authorities also are investigating a possible link between the Whitewashed Bandit and the Gone Plaid Bandit, DeKofsky said. The Gone Plaid Bandit is wanted in at least a dozen robberies over three years and last struck in 2013, the Orange County Register has reported.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI’s 24-hour hotline at 310-477-6565.