‘No-Joke Bandit’ Case : Publicity Cited in Man’s Surrender

A man suspected of being the “No-Joke Bandit,” sought by the FBI in connection with 35 Southland bank robberies, is being held in Riverside County Jail after giving himself up to Buena Park police Thursday night, authorities said.

When Russell (Rusty) Eugene Gadd, 25, turned himself in, he “indicated he was doing so because of the extensive pressure by massive media attention,” FBI spokesman Fred Reagan said.

On Tuesday, the FBI had appealed for help in capturing the so-called “No-Joke Bandit,” who is believed responsible for stealing an estimated $70,000 from up to 35 banks and savings and loans in Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties over the past seven months.

‘It’s No Joke’

“This guy is called the ‘No-Joke Bandit’ because he usually tells them: ‘This is a robbery and it’s no joke,’ ” FBI spokesman Jim Neilson said earlier this week.

More than half of the robberies believed to be the work of the bandit were committed in Anaheim, Buena Park, El Toro, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Los Alamitos, Orange, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Westminster.

Before Gadd’s surrender, Reagan said, the FBI had already received a variety of calls naming him as the suspect, based on publication of the robber’s photograph in Southland newspapers and its airing on television broadcasts.

“We had numerous responses (from people) . . . many of (whom) identified the photo of the fellow we call the ‘No-Joke Bandit’ as Mr. Gadd,” Reagan said.

Gadd was transferred to Riverside County and arrested on an outstanding warrant for violating probation on a burglary conviction. Gadd, whose last known address was in Buena Park, was being held Friday without bail until he could be brought before a federal magistrate on bank robbery charges, Reagan said.

On April 5, 1985, Gadd was sentenced to six months in County Jail and placed on three years’ probation for a felony burglary conviction, according to Riverside County Superior Court officials.

But a bench warrant was issued March 7 for Gadd’s arrest after he failed to report his new address and failed to appear for an appointment with his probation officer, a Riverside Superior Court clerk said.

The “No-Joke Bandit,” according to the FBI, usually presented a handwritten note demanding money. He has fled from robbery scenes on a motorcycle, in a brown van and in a small pickup truck.

The bandit has been photographed on bank-surveillance cameras, unmasked, and sometimes carrying a motorcycle helmet.

The largest amount taken in any one robbery was about $6,000; the rest were sums of $2,000 or less. The most recent bank robbery was committed in San Clemente on Monday, officials said.

Under the federal bank robbery statute, Reagan said that prosecutors could seek a penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $5,000 fine for each count, adding that the suspect is “believed to be good for at least 35 counts.”

Times Staff Writer Mark Landsbaum contributed to this story.