Bicyclist Robs 1st Nationwide as Valley Bank-Holdup Wave Hits 76

A robber walked into a bank Friday, demanded money and rode away on a bicycle, continuing a wave of bank robberies in the San Fernando Valley.

It was the 76th bank holdup so far this year in the Valley, compared to 45 for all of last year, according to FBI statistics. The bandit--described by witnesses as a white man between 25 and 30, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall with medium-length blond hair--entered the 1st Nationwide Bank in the 9000 block of Tampa Avenue just as it was about to close at 6 p.m., said FBI spokesman John Hoos.

He told a teller: “Give me all your money or I’m going to shoot you,” Hoos said.

It was unclear whether the robber really had a gun, Hoos said.

The robber rode away on a bike, but the FBI said he did not appear to be the bank robber dubbed the “Huck Finn Bandit,” who allegedly wears a red wig and floppy hat and also rides away from holdups on a bicycle before stashing it in his getaway car.

The “Huck Finn Bandit” is one of several individuals and gangs the FBI blames for the rash of Valley bank robberies, along with the “Black Nylon Bandits” and the “High Incident Bandits.”