Fugitive Sought in String of 18 Recent Bank Robberies

U.S. authorities are searching for a 35-year-old federal fugitive in connection with 18 Los Angeles County bank robberies in the past two months.

The suspect, John Earl Wright, is wanted on suspicion of committing a series of robberies in which a gunman entered banks, flashed a handgun tucked in his waistband and demanded cash while threatening to shoot customers or employees, FBI spokesman John Hoos said.

The robber then used a white plastic bag to carry his booty away, earning him the nickname “White Bag Bandit.”

“He’s a prolific robber and there’s no doubt about it that we want this guy bad,” Hoos said.

The robberies began June 21 at a Home Savings of America branch in Hollywood. That holdup was followed by three more bank robberies in Hollywood, two in Studio City, nine in Los Angeles, two in Santa Monica and one in West Hollywood, Hoos said. The most recent of them was reported Aug. 19 at a Great Western Bank branch in Santa Monica.