Bald Eagle Bandit May Have Wings Trimmed
A man suspected of being the county’s most prolific bank robber, dubbed the Bald Eagle by authorities, was arrested Thursday at a bar in Anaheim.
Buena Park police arrested Hector Rodrigo Soto, 31, of Yorba Linda on suspicion of 16 bank robberies committed since Jan. 4. Twelve of those were in Orange County, the other four in Los Angeles County.
Officer Richard McMillan said the department’s undercover unit received information from the FBI on Tuesday about places that Soto frequents. Undercover officers arrested Soto in the bar on Euclid Avenue without incident.
The robber was known for his bald pate and thick, metal-rim glasses. He usually carried a briefcase and, on occasion, impatiently reached over the bank counter to grab money from a cash drawer, the FBI said.
He had been seen leaving bank robberies in a brown compact car with the license 619 SND.
Soto is held in Orange County Jail without bail.
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