Police Arrest Transient in Bank Robbery

A man suspected of using unarmed grenades to coerce bank tellers into handing over money was arrested Monday following a robbery in the West San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles police said.

James Molidor, 28, described as a transient living in Malibu, was arrested at 10:35 a.m., shortly after a robbery at the Security Pacific National Bank in the 6600 block of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, said Lt. Bruce Meyer.

Molidor was driving away from the bank in a sports car when he was stopped by officers, who were responding to the bank’s alarm and had a description of a getaway car, Meyer said. About $4,000 of the bank’s money and a practice grenade were found in the car, he said.

Meyer said Molidor is suspected of pulling the unarmed grenade from a briefcase and demanding the money from a teller at the bank. He is suspected of using a similar method to rob two other Valley financial institutions, Meyer said.

In a Feb. 22 robbery of a Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan branch in North Hollywood, a robber left two unarmed grenades behind after taking $4,500 from a teller, Meyer said. The savings and loan was evacuated before the bomb squad determined that the grenades contained no explosives.

The second robbery occurred March 17 at a First Nationwide Investment & Trust office in Woodland Hills. A man threatened a teller with a grenade until she handed over money, Meyer said.