Suspect in String of Bank Robberies Arrested

A man suspected of robbing 10 banks in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties over the past two months was arrested Tuesday after a quick-thinking Oxnard bank manager snagged the license-plate number of a reported getaway car.

Robert Kenneth Porter, 34, of Casitas Springs surrendered peacefully to California Highway Patrol and Ventura County sheriff’s deputies in front of his home, said FBI Special Agent Gary Auer.

Porter is being held in Ventura County Jail while the FBI seeks federal charges against him, Auer said. Federal prosecutors are expected to file charges today, he said.

Porter, suspected of being the “taxicab robber” who fled two bank robberies in a taxi, allegedly robbed an Oxnard Bank of America branch at 455 S. A St. at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday.

After authorities matched the license-plate number with an address in Casitas Springs, CHP officers arrived at the house and waited for the suspect, Auer said. Porter was arrested there about 4:30 p.m.

Authorities did not disclose Porter’s address.

The portly “taxicab robber,” also dubbed the “second-drawer bandit” due to his demands, is suspected of starting his spree July 3 at the Bank of America at 1130 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura.

The cap-wearing robber, whose technique included handing a teller a note demanding money and indicating he was armed but not displaying a weapon, used a cab as a getaway car July 11 at California Federal Bank at 430 Arneill Road in Camarillo. He also used a taxi at a Santa Barbara County bank robbery, authorities said.