Police Announce Arrest of ‘Sunglass Bandit’
Police on Friday announced the arrest of a Reseda man believed to be the “sunglass bandit” responsible for a string of holdups of small businesses in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys and the South Bay.
Arthur Mendoza, 40, was captured June 9 by members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s crime suppression unit after a lengthy investigation.
“He’s virtually a one-man crime wave, responsible for about 110 robberies to date,” said Det. Jack Giroud of the LAPD’s robbery and homicide division.
Police nicknamed the robber “Mr. Sunglasses” because he usually wore a backward baseball cap and sunglasses during his crimes, which began last November, Giroud said.
“He did all his robberies by himself,” Giroud said. Mendoza told police he needed the money to pay rent and eat, Giroud said.
Mendoza faces at least two armed-robbery charges and was being held in L.A. County Jail on $170,000 bail, Giroud said.
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