Arrests Made in String of Takeover Robberies

Two men suspected of being the “Fast Food Bandits” were being held by law enforcement officials Friday night in connection with at least 10 robberies last year in the Antelope Valley, including a takeover bank heist two weeks ago.

Another man, considered armed and dangerous by authorities, was still at large.

The arrests of Lancaster residents David Daniel Thomas Wilkerson, 20, and Darrell Lane McClain, 19, were announced Friday by Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives and FBI agents. A federal arrest warrant has also been issued for James Douglas Pridgen, 43, suspected of being the leader of the group, authorities said.

Sheriff’s detectives say the trio’s crime spree started last year with a spate of takeover robberies of fast food restaurants and Salvation Army thrift stores in Lancaster and Palmdale. The robberies culminated in the Dec. 16 armed takeover of the Edwards Federal Credit Union at 44288 10th St. in Lancaster.

In takeovers, robbers take command of the business and everyone in it at gunpoint, usually shouting orders and brandishing weapons. The technique presents greater dangers of widespread gunplay than the alternative, quietly holding up a cashier and fleeing before other customers know what is happening.

Investigators linked Pridgen to each of the crimes and Wilkerson and McClain to lesser numbers.

The first two robberies occurred last July at the same Salvation Army thrift store at 2101 E. Palmdale Blvd. in Palmdale. In a robbery of another Salvation Army thrift store in Lancaster, Pridgen allegedly drove off in the manager’s orange Porsche, an investigator said.

Pridgen and Wilkerson are also suspected of robbing a Carl’s Jr. restaurant, a Burger King, a McDonald’s and two Wienerschnitzel outlets, all in Lancaster. A Wienerschnitzel on Avenue K was hit three times in less than a month. Det. John Kalita said similarities in the way the robberies were staged led investigators to believe the crimes were committed by the same men.

“They would put all the employees in a back room or put them in the freezer,” he said.

Pridgen, who police said wore a black ski mask during the robberies and was usually armed with a 9-millimeter pistol, allegedly assaulted at least two people in the holdups.

In a midafternoon holdup of a jewelry repair shop in Palmdale, Kalita said, Pridgen ordered the owner, his wife and their small child to the floor. Pridgen, fumbling through his bag for handcuffs and gloves, Kalita said, put his gun on the ground. The owner snatched the pistol, but was beaten back to the ground before he could fire it, Kalita said.

An undisclosed amount of jewelry was stolen from the shop, Kalita said.

Wilkerson, McClain and Pridgen are also suspects in a carjacking at a Lancaster home a month before they allegedly used the same car in the bank heist.

In that incident a Lancaster resident was allegedly assaulted by Pridgen, Wilkerson and McClain as the man walked from his house to his 1985 blue Honda warming up in his garage. Kalita said the victim struggled with one of the armed suspects, broke loose, ran into his house and locked his front door. Kalita said the men drove away in the victim’s car.

The car showed up again on Dec. 16 after Pridgen and Wilkerson, allegedly held up the Edwards [Air Force Base] Federal Credit Union armed with a handgun and shotgun, said FBI Supervisor Gary Auer. Auer said that after the pair stole “a substantial and significant amount of money” from the bank, they used the stolen vehicle as a getaway car.

As they drove away from the credit union, a red-dye pack secreted in one of the money bags exploded, destroying much of the stolen cash. The dye pack, which spewed noxious fumes and red paint, drove Wilkerson out of the car, Auer said.

Witnesses say they saw Pridgen driving the Honda down Beech Street with his head hanging out of the window and Wilkerson running after the car, Auer said. Wilkerson escaped on foot.

Wilkerson was arrested by sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents without incident at his Lancaster home on New Year’s Eve, Auer said. He was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. His federal arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

McClain, who is suspected of participating in the bank heist, was arrested at his Lancaster home Dec. 23 and is being held by sheriff’s deputies. He is expected to be handed over to federal authorities.

Both are being held without bail.