Stumped FBI Offers $15,000 for Leads to ‘Kangaroo Bandit’

He’s been dubbed the “Kangaroo Bandit” because he scoops his loot into a backpack that he wears on his chest.

In a year, he has robbed 21 banks throughout Southern California.

On Thursday, the anniversary of his first score in Tustin, the FBI announced a $15,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

“We desperately need the public’s assistance,” said FBI Agent Dan Bondony. “The sooner he gets off the streets, the better it is for everyone.”

Despite two previous public appeals for help, federal agents said, they have no significant leads in the case.

In June, the Kangaroo Bandit struck five banks.

He is said to be 25 to 30 years old and 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and to weigh 180 to 200 pounds.

Witnesses have described him as a dark-skinned white man, a light-skinned black man or of mixed race.

In some robberies, he has used charcoal makeup to simulate a beard,

He has also worn a baseball cap or a fishing hat and, most recently, a nylon stocking mask to complete his disguise.

Operating alone, he typically orders bank tellers to place all their cash on the counter and then commands everyone to drop to the floor while he walks down the teller line, filling his pack with cash.

The robber carries a semiautomatic handgun, but no one has been shot.

From bank security videos, Bondony said, “it appears as if he’s had some sort of weapons training, just by the way he holds the weapon. Everywhere he looks, the weapon goes.”

The Kangaroo Bandit wastes no time. He’s usually in and out of a bank in four minutes.

Some witnesses recalled having seen him casing the banks two days before he robbed them. They described him as well-groomed, friendly and attractive.

One person with whom he chatted briefly said he gave his name as Bobby and said he was born in Brazil. He told another witness he was a former karate instructor and had AIDS.

He first struck on July 6, 1999, at the California Federal Bank branch in Tustin. Since then, he has robbed the Washington Mutual Bank in Calabasas, First Federal Savings in Duarte, Washington Mutual Bank in Azusa, Bank of America in Brentwood, Wells Fargo Bank in Brentwood, Bank of America in Mission Viejo, Washington Mutual in Irvine and Santa Barbara Bank & Trust in Camarillo.

Also, the Sanwa Bank in La Habra, Washington Mutual in Solano Beach, Washington Mutual in Valencia, Bank of America in Saugus, California Federal Bank in Laguna Niguel, World Savings in Mission Viejo, California Federal Bank in Yorba Linda, First Bank & Trust in Marina del Rey, Quaker City Bank in La Mirada, Citibank in Huntington Beach, Fullerton Community Bank in Fullerton and, most recently, on June 30, Quaker City Bank in La Habra.

The FBI would not say how much money was taken during the robberies. A spokeswoman said the agency does not disclose such figures as a matter of policy.

Although bank robberies dropped in Southern California last year, the trend so far this year appears to be slightly up.

According to FBI figures, 308 bank robberies were committed during the first six months of 2000 in the seven-county region, compared with 291 in the same period last year. That represents a 6% increase.

The figures for armed takeover robberies are more ominous: a 33% increase, from 54 during the first half of 1999 to 72 during the same period this year.

Times staff writer Gina Piccalo contributed to this story.