Man Arrested as ‘Fish Hat Bandit’ Suspect in 43 Bank Robberies

A man believed to be the “Fish Hat Bandit” was arrested Wednesday afternoon outside a Santa Ana golf course as a suspect in 43 Southern California bank robberies since January.

One law-enforcement officer close to the case called the arrest “a stroke of luck” and said: “It’s a big deal because of the sheer number of banks he’s hit. And he’s a big guy: 6 feet tall, 200 pounds . . . and tellers remembered his very large hands.”

Kenneth James Killeen, 38, a Garden Grove resident and convicted robber paroled from federal prison in 1985, was arrested at the Riverview Golf Course at 1:15 p.m., police said.

Newport Beach police spokesman Kent Stoddard said Killeen is a suspect in the most recent “Fish Hat Bandit” robbery, which occurred Tuesday at the California First Bank branch at 396 Superior Ave. in Newport Beach. Killeen was booked into the Newport Beach City Jail.

The suspect was being held without bail late Wednesday on an arrest warrant charging him with federal parole violation. The warrant was issued in April, 1986, but Stoddard said he did not know details of that charge.

Police plan to hold a press conference today to provide further details of the arrest and investigation by several different law enforcement agencies, including Newport Beach, which has had three robberies by the man wearing a fisherman’s hat.

“In January of this year,” Stoddard said, “a series of bank robberies began occurring when the lone suspect wore some type of hat. This suspect became known as the Fish Hat Bandit. Several Orange County police agencies have been investigating bank robberies where . . . a similar type of hat was worn in each case.”

On Wednesday morning, two Newport Beach detectives attended a monthly parole information meeting at the Buena Park Police Department, where they hoped to gather information “that might assist in identifying a suspect,” Stoddard said.

A Garden Grove police sergeant told them that detectives had “developed information that the Fish Hat Bandit’s name was possibly Kenny and that he was reportedly a parolee, a golf enthusiast and frequented the area of Honer Plaza and the Riverview Golf Course, both in Santa Ana,” Stoddard said.

The two Newport Beach detectives decided after the meeting to stop by the golf course, Stoddard said. The officers showed employees bank surveillance photos of the Fish Hat Bandit, but workers said they did not recognize the man.

The detectives walked back outside to their unmarked car and “at this time, they observed a male subject approaching on foot from some distance away,” Stoddard said.

“The man very closely matched the description of the Fish Hat Bandit, and they observed him enter a nearby parked car,” Stoddard said. Additional officers were summoned, and the suspect was arrested without resistance.

Killeen was booked on the outstanding federal parole violation warrant, and the FBI was notified of his arrest. He is expected to be turned over to federal marshals today.