Brass Knuckles Led Police to Suspect in Bank Heists

A gleaming pair of brass knuckles seized during a late-night traffic stop led to the arrest of the “Butterfingers Bandit,” believed responsible for two dozen bank robberies in Los Angeles and the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, authorities said Monday.

Christopher Harris Wright, 32, of Los Angeles was being held at the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles without bail after his arrest Thursday on suspicion of robbery. He is scheduled to appear in court March 11.

A second man, 33-year-old Peter Lavaty, was arrested on suspicion of possessing brass knuckles, authorities said.

The robber was nicknamed by police for his involvement in a series of robberies in which witnesses said he dropped cash at two west San Fernando Valley bank branches and a demand note at a third Valley crime scene, said Laura Bosley, an FBI spokeswoman. In those cases, Bosley said, apparently fearful witnesses helped him scoop up cash and the note while exiting the banks.

Investigators believe Wright committed two dozen bank robberies, one each in Santa Clarita and Lancaster and the rest in Los Angeles. Authorities said no one was hurt in the crimes.

The 24 robberies took place from Nov. 3, 2001, to Feb. 15, 2002. A break in the case came Thursday night when officers with the LAPD’s Devonshire Division Special Enforcement unit pulled over a car that Wright was driving during a routine traffic stop at Roscoe Boulevard and Louise Street in Northridge.

During the stop, an officer noticed a pair of brass knuckles in the car that allegedly belonged to Lavaty, authorities said. A further search turned up unspecified evidence related to the bank robberies, they said.

Upon further investigation, police said they saw similarities between Wright and the Butterfingers Bandit.