Police Net Reputed ‘Blue Bag Bandit,’ 16 Robberies Later

A man dubbed the “Blue Bag Bandit” has been arrested on suspicion of robbing 16 banks in Orange and Los Angeles counties, FBI officials said Tuesday.

Peter Petrovich Galitzen, 47, of Anaheim, was arrested without incident Monday at the home of a relative in Fullerton, said FBI spokesman Gary Morley.

Galitzen is suspected of robbing 16 banks of a combined total of more than $35,000 between March 20 and Friday.

Authorities began referring to the robbery suspect as the “Blue Bag Bandit” because he would typically demand that bank tellers put large bills inside a cloth blue bag that he would place on the counter after demanding money at gunpoint, Morley said.

The robberies occurred at bank branches throughout Orange County, including Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Orange and Seal Beach, as well as Whittier, Glendale and Torrance in Los Angeles County.

Galitzen is being held without bail at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.