Robbery Suspect Held
A man suspected of being the “Marty Robbins Bandit” was arrested after a Wells Fargo Bank branch was robbed Monday.
The suspect, identified as William David Barnett, 32, formerly of Roseville, Calif., is believed responsible for a string of at least 28 bank robberies in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties since last March, Fountain Valley police said.
The robber was dubbed the “Marty Robbins Bandit” because of his resemblance to the late country-Western singer and songwriter, best known for borderland cowboy ballads such as “El Paso.”
Monday’s arrest followed the 1:12 p.m. robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank in the 16000 block of Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley.
According to police, a man entered the bank and gave a note demanding cash to a teller, then fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money. A short time later, Police Sgt. Norm Satterfield spotted a man matching the robbery suspect’s description, who was driving out of a residential neighborhood near Magnolia Street and Heil Avenue.
Police stopped the vehicle and arrested Barnett. He was being held at the Huntington Beach City Jail. Fountain Valley Police Sgt. D. Nance said Barnett, who has no current address and was described as a transient, will be turned over to the FBI for prosecution in federal court.
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