A’s Bandit Suspect Indicted on 28 Counts

For nearly four months before he was arrested for robbing a bank in University City and was linked to 28 other robberies, prosecutors allege, David Malley lived lavishly, spending money as fast as he stole it.

Fashionable clothes, including a $280 suit from Nordstrom. An apartment full of new furniture. A $5,000 down payment on a new Toyota. Drinks for friends at night spots in Hillcrest and University Towne Centre while limousines waited outside to take them all home.

More than a month after police arrested Malley in the A’s Bandit series, in which the robber sometimes appeared in bank lobbies wearing an Oakland A’s cap, Malley was officially charged Thursday with 28 counts of robbing a bank.

The U.S. attorney’s office announced the 28-count indictment in a press conference Thursday, noting that FBI agents have been able to recover less than $700 of the $34,000 that was taken over the three months of the robberies.

Federal agents believe that Malley may have kept a stash of money hidden in a briefcase or portable safe somewhere in San Diego. But they have yet to find it.

“He used most of the money for living expenses,” said Jack Kelly, FBI special agent in charge of bank robberies. “He lived a rather lavish lifestyle and had many acquaintances.”

In an interview last month with news organizations, Malley, a native of Upstate New York, steadfastly denied robbing any banks and said he was being made a scapegoat for someone else’s robbery spree.

“I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life, but I didn’t rob 29 banks,” he said from his jail floor, adding that police and prosecutors “needed a place to hang their hats.”

The lanky, burgundy-haired young man, who told of a troubled past in and out of foster homes, an alcoholic mother and an absent father, has denied guilt.

But federal officials contend he is the “most prolific bank robber in the history of San Diego law enforcement,” accounting for 20% of the city’s robberies so far this year, according to Joe Johnson, FBI special agent in charge for San Diego.

Earlier this year, as more and more banks were linked to the same robber, whose looks were described as clean-cut and preppie, many speculated that perhaps he was a college student or someone with a severe drug habit. Kelly said there is no evidence to link Malley to any sort of drug use, and, now that he is in custody, they care little about his lifestyle.

But the bank robberies became legendary in the city, as people discussed his taste and fashion and his easy-going, mild-mannered robbery style.

“The reports of this crime spree took on a romantic quality,” U.S. Atty. William Braniff acknowledged Thursday, “but there was nothing romantic to the people who were terrorized during these bank robberies. . . . It is now time for the truth to be determined in a court of law.”

After Johnson on Thursday had praised the tenacity of San Diego police and federal agents in arresting Malley, he was asked why the robber had eluded authorities for so long.

“I still think that so much had to do with the fact that Mr. Malley was an average-looking guy that dressed in a non-threatening manner,” he said. “It was a combination of a common-looking guy with a good string of luck.”

Although he was charged with 28 counts--a 29th robbery charge was not pursued because of identification problems--federal sentencing guidelines for bank robberies allow only that up to six can be charged to the same person, a peculiarity of the law that rankles prosecutors.

Conviction on all six counts can bring a sentence of between 97 and 121 months--eight and 10 years--in prison, but conviction on any charge beyond six does not add to the penalty.

Prosecutors say they will seek “an upward departure” in the sentencing if Malley is convicted by bringing up Malley’s criminal history in New York, including convictions for passing bad checks and possessing a stolen car.

The indictment alleges that, in the bank robbery that resulted in Malley’s arrest, the robber carried a butcher knife, which could also increase the length of the sentence.

“In unusual cases--and I suggest this is an unusual case because of the number of bank robberies, the most anyone’s ever committed in the city--the government can ask for an upward departure, and, if it does, you’re moving upward from 121 months,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick K. O’Toole.

Braniff added: “It’s sending out the wrong message to say that after bank robbery No. 6, it’s all on the house.”

Malley is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning.