Man Found Not Guilty in 9 Robberies : Courts: Gilbert David Michaels of North Hills was found to be insane when he took part in stealing nearly $1 million from the Valley banks.

A federal court judge found a North Hills man not guilty by reason of insanity for his role in stealing nearly $1 million from nine San Fernando Valley banks, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Judge A. Wallace Tashima rendered his verdict Tuesday, following an agreement by prosecutors and defense attorneys stipulating that Gilbert David Michaels, 51, committed the robberies but was insane at the time.

Assistant U. S. Atty. Christopher Tayback said his office chose to accept the defense plea because numerous psychiatrists who evaluated Michaels found that he was insane when he committed the robberies.

Michaels was indicted along with James Ambrose McGrath on 18 counts of bank robbery with firearms violations. A federal jury convicted McGrath on all counts in October and he was subsequently sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Tayback said McGrath displayed more violence during the robberies than Michaels. A hearing to determine Michaels’ mental state has been scheduled for March 28.

The FBI captured Michaels and McGrath in March, 1992, after the robbery of a Home Savings of America branch in Woodland Hills. Both men were also charged with robbing a Tarzana bank of $430,000, the largest amount ever taken in a Los Angeles bank robbery.