2 Bank Holdups : Bandit Makes His Rounds by Taxi

A bandit traveled by cab Monday to two San Fernando Valley banks, robbing one and attempting to rob the other, before he escaped on a shuttle bus to Los Angeles International Airport, police said.

“He had the cab wait for him out front while he went in,” said Los Angeles Police Lt. Bruce Meyer.

The unidentified man took the cab from a Van Nuys motel to a Bank of America branch at 6600 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in North Hollywood, Meyer said. He arrived at the bank at 11:15 a.m., went in carrying a gym bag, indicated that he had a gun and demanded money from a teller. But the teller stalled. The man grew impatient and fled in the cab.

“He came out and had the cab driver take him to another Bank of America branch,” Meyer said.

The second stop was at the branch at 10300 Sepulveda Blvd. in Mission Hills. Again, the man went in carrying a gym bag and told a teller he had a gun, Meyer said.

The bandit fled with about $1,200 from the second bank, returned to his waiting cab and instructed the driver to take him to the shuttle-bus terminal at Van Nuys Airport, Meyer said.

“The cab driver did not know this guy was robbing banks,” Meyer said. “He thought the guy had some business he was taking care of.”

The man took an 11:50 a.m. shuttle bus to LAX, Meyer said. Police were unable to intercept the bus, he said.

By the time police caught up with the bus at LAX, Meyer said, it already had dropped off passengers at airport terminals. The bandit was gone by the time police searched the bus, and police believe that he slipped into a crowd of travelers, Meyer said. Authorities said they searched the airport for an hour. No flights were delayed because of the search.

The same man may have robbed a bank in Burbank recently, police said. The bandit also used a taxi to get to and from the bank and to Burbank Airport, where he escaped on a shuttle bus to LAX, police said.

Police would not disclose other details, including the date of that robbery or how much money had been taken.