New charges filed against ‘Jason Bourne’ suspect

Los Angeles County prosecutors filed additional counterfeiting and weapons charges Thursday against a man who spent six weeks on the run from authorities after making a dramatic escape from his downtown loft overlooking the Federal Reserve building.

Brian Alexik, who authorities likened to Jason Bourne, the fictional secret agent known for his daring getaways and high-tech gadgetry, was charged with seven new felony counts — including forgery and drug charges — under an amended criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The 34-year-old New Jersey man already has been charged with possession of an AK-47 assault rifle, manufacture of a short-barrel shotgun and possession of firearms by a felon. Alexik has pleaded not guilty to all 10 criminal counts against him.

If convicted on all counts, he faces 15 years in state prison, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Dubbed a real-life Jason Bourne for his efforts to evade police by jumping down a fire escape from his downtown L.A. loft, Alexik was arrested without incident June 3 at a girlfriend’s hotel room near Little Tokyo after six weeks on the run.

Alexik, who investigators say had several different looks, was sporting close-cropped hair dyed auburn and fingers coated with glue to avoid leaving fingerprints at the time he was taken into custody.

The case began unfolding April 19 when Alexik’s neighbors called firefighters after smelling fumes emanating from his penthouse. Police were called in and broke down the door of the penthouse just as the man inside was escaping through a back window and down a fire escape carrying duffel bags.

The $3,400-a-month loft, which Alexik had leased by paying in cash a year in advance, contained sophisticated counterfeiting equipment as well as a cache of weapons, including an AK-47.

Investigators also found stacks of counterfeit $100 bills totaling $15,000, a camera tripod, the formula for a Molotov cocktail written on a wall and a mosaic of the Central Intelligence Agency seal on the floor.

Authorities say a key part of the mystery is why Alexik was so close to the Federal Reserve building on Grand Avenue, which was overlooked by the loft.

andrew.blankstein@latimes.com