Suspected Bank Robber Arrested

A man suspected of being the armed bank robber known as “the accountant bandit,” so named for his dapper attire, was arrested Friday morning after a fistfight with a federal agent during a Union Bank holdup in San Clemente, FBI officials said.

William Micah Dale, 34, of San Diego was arrested in connection with the robbery and taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, said Gary Morley, media coordinator for the FBI’s Santa Ana office. Dale, a suspect in 11 other bank robberies in Orange County over the past two years, also may be charged with resisting arrest and assault on a federal agent, he said.

Dale, dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, entered the bank in the 800 block of Avenida Pico just before 11:45 a.m., Morley said. A federal agent had been posted inside the bank as part of a stakeout by a bank robbery apprehension team that included FBI and Orange County sheriff’s officials, according to Morley.

Dale allegedly approached one of the tellers, presented a note demanding cash and displayed a handgun in his waistband. After he took an undisclosed amount of money and left the teller’s line, an agent approached him. A fistfight ensued, and during the confrontation the agent fired a round from his handgun, but nobody was hit, Morley said.

The fight continued outside the bank, where a sheriff’s deputy joined in. The agent and deputy finally subdued Dale, who was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries received in the fight.

Neither the FBI agent nor the deputy needed medical attention, Morley said.