‘Huck Finn Bandit’ Robs Another Bank

The quirky bank robber dubbed the “Huck Finn Bandit” by police because he usually dons a red wig and fisherman’s cap and rides a bicycle, robbed another San Fernando Valley bank Monday.

Police have linked the man to at least seven previous heists in the Valley.

At about 10:30 a.m. Monday the unarmed suspect rode his bike to the Coast Federal Bank branch in the 4400 block of Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood. He parked the bike, went inside and demanded money from a teller with a note, according to LAPD Officer Joanne Bryant.

After being given a bag of money, the man exited the bank and threw his bike in the back of a truck before speeding off.

This time, FBI spokeswoman Kiara Andrich said, the man was wearing a white baseball cap instead of a fisherman’s cap.

No one was injured in the robbery and the man got away with $1,100 in cash.

With the recent spate of robberies, FBI officials said they will maintain an intensified effort to stake out Valley banks. In the first six months of 1996, there has been a 64% rise in holdups, including 21 takeover robberies, according to the FBI.

“We will just add this to the long list of robberies that he already has,” Andrich said of the Huck Finn Bandit. “But we can’t do anything out of the ordinary except try to chase leads. This problem is not just in the Valley, it’s everywhere. But we are still concentrating on the more violent robberies.”