Man Who Killed Orange Bank Guard in Shootout Dies

The gunman who killed a security guard Wednesday at an Eldorado Bank branch in Orange was identified Friday as James B. Butler, 50, a Las Vegas card dealer.

Butler died about 12:30 a.m. Friday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana after undergoing surgery. He had been hit in the chest during a shootout with the guard.

He was identified through fingerprints that matched those from a 1967 arrest by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said Orange Police Sgt. John Whiteley.

Butler fatally shot Michael McClellan, a 54-year-old retired Long Beach police officer who had been hired by the bank after it was robbed three times. McClellan died at the scene.

Police believe Butler had committed all three previous robberies at the bank on Chapman Avenue. Investigators for the Federal Bureau of Investigation also have linked him to two other Orange County bank robberies.

In Wednesday’s attempted robbery, Butler entered the bank about 10:15 a.m. and, cursing and shouting, ordered employees and customers to the floor as he demanded $50 and $100 bills. McClellan, witnesses said, opened fire and the gunman shot back.

Butler, still carrying a handgun, then stumbled out of the bank and collapsed in the parking lot in view of witnesses working in nearby shops. He was not carrying identification and never regained consciousness, investigators said.

Investigators also did not find a getaway car, which might have aided them in identifying Butler more quickly.

Relatives in San Diego were notified Friday night of his death.

McClellan retired from the Long Beach Police Department in 1980. He then worked as a diamond prospector in West Africa and recently told a friend that he was planning to quit his job at the bank to go mine for gold in Nevada.