Local news in Brief : Suspect in 14 Bank Robberies Arrested
A woman thought to be the “Miss America Bandit,” suspected in 14 bank robberies in the Los Angeles Basin over the last six months, has been arrested, authorities announced Friday.
Dannielle Mast, 23, of Los Angeles, who was arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies Thursday in Gardena, was identified by bank employees as the woman who robbed a Security Pacific branch at 9001 Lincoln Blvd. in Los Angeles on Aug. 5, sheriff’s spokesman Eric Smith said.
An FBI spokesman said Mast is suspected of robbing 12 banks and two savings and loans in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles and Culver City from March to August, 1988.
Sheriff’s deputies, acting on information provided by other bank robbery suspects, stopped Mast in her car, Smith said.
Mast, dubbed the “Miss America Bandit” because a teller once described her as attractive, is suspected of using a handgun in at least one holdup, FBI spokesman Jim Nielson said.
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