Police Link Man to ‘Bad Teeth Bandit’ Robberies

A Glendale man arrested as a suspect in an armed robbery has been linked to more than 40 other robberies in the San Fernando Valley by his front teeth or, rather, his lack of them, Los Angeles police reported Thursday.

Police said they believe that Jack L. Scruggs, 38, is the so-called “Bad Teeth Bandit,” a label detectives gave an elusive suspect with rotting and missing front teeth who was responsible for a robbery spree throughout the Valley that began in February.

Scruggs was arrested without incident Wednesday at his home, where police traced him after a witness wrote down the license number on a car used in the holdup of a Panorama City record store Sept. 8, Detective Richard Schauer said.

Since the arrest, police have been arranging for victims and witnesses in dozens of robberies to view lineups featuring Scruggs’ picture or the suspect himself.

Schauer said Scruggs was identified by victims Thursday as the suspect in five of the robberies. “We will probably be doing this for a week,” Schauer said. “It is probably 40 to 60 robberies” in which the “Bad Teeth Bandit” was believed involved.

Scruggs, who was previously convicted of robbery and was on parole until January, was being held Thursday in the Van Nuys Jail, authorities said. He has no bail because of a prior arrest warrant issued for him on a drug possession charge, Schauer said. Scruggs’ arraignment is scheduled today.

Police said the “Bad Teeth Bandit” robberies occurred at businesses ranging from mini-markets to pizza parlors to yogurt shops. In most of the robberies, the suspect lifted his shirt to display a gun tucked into his waistband and demanded cash. No one was hurt.

Scruggs is believed to have fled with a few hundred dollars in each holdup, which police say he used to support his addiction to methamphetamines.

Police realized several months ago that one person was probably responsible for the robberies because of the recurring description of the suspect.

“The thing that hit the victims’ eyes first in nearly all of the robberies was that the guy had bad teeth and was missing front teeth,” Schauer said. “So we started calling him the ‘Bad Teeth Bandit.’ ”

Scruggs was captured after a witness wrote down the license of a car used in the robbery of a Tower Records store in the 8700 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, Schauer said. The store was robbed three times by the “Bad Teeth Bandit,” he said.

The license was registered to a car that detectives learned Scruggs had borrowed Sept. 8, Schauer said. The gun--a toy pistol--believed used in the robberies was found by police during the arrest, he said.