Federal Fugitive Is Arrested : Crime: Valencia resident, 27, is suspected of two bank robberies in which he held employees’ families hostage.

A federal fugitive from Valencia, who allegedly robbed two banks after holding the families of employees hostage, was arrested Tuesday morning as he drove through the Northern California city of Pacific Grove, authorities said.

Brett Pelch, 27, was taken into custody about 10:30 a.m., after a Pacific Grove police officer pulled over his 1979 BMW because it was missing a front license plate, said Ken Lesher, a community relations officer with the department.

Pelch was stopped while driving along the ocean side of the Monterey Peninsula city. The officer checked the car’s registration on his computer, and found that Pelch was wanted on bank robbery charges, Lesher said. He then arrested the fugitive.

“He just kind of went with the program real easily,” Lesher said of Pelch. “He didn’t offer any resistance.”

Officials allege that Pelch is one of five men who robbed both a Canyon Country bank and a Northridge bank in 1993. In both cases a group of gunmen burst into the homes of the branch officers and held their families hostage. Gunmen then accompanied the officers to work the next morning, forced them to open the vaults and made off with a combined $215,000, according to court documents.

Darren Patrick Towers, 25, of Santa Clarita was arrested in December, 1993, and confessed to the FBI, authorities said. In February, 1994, Alex Yepes, 26, of Valencia and Brett Pelch’s brother Chad were arrested in Las Vegas.

Towers and Chad Pelch pleaded guilty to bank robbery. Yepes was acquitted of bank robbery charges but is awaiting trial in state court on other charges stemming from the robberies.

Still at large is Donald Patrick Sallee, 26.

Brett Pelch was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted” in July, FBI Special Agent Gary Auer said. Following the program, the FBI received numerous tips that Pelch was living in San Diego, working as a nightclub bouncer.

But Pelch fled town before agents reached him, Auer said. They were able to link the BMW to him, and put an entry in a national criminal database that the car belonged to Pelch.

Found in that car in Pacific Grove were a pistol and a wig, Lesher said.

Pelch is expected to be arraigned today on federal bank robbery charges.