Alleged ‘Zorro Bandit’ caught

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Police on Thursday arrested the alleged “Zorro Bandit,” a 23-year-old man tied to six bank robberies in Los Angeles and Glendale.

Glendale resident Luis Miguel Corado was arraigned Friday in Glendale Superior Court and is facing six counts of armed robbery, said Glendale Police Officer John Balian. Police called him the Zorro Bandit because of a prominent black mustache that appeared in bank surveillance photos.

Corado struck three banks in Glendale and three banks in Los Angeles during a 1 1/2 -year period, Balian said.

In Glendale, Corado was behind three robberies at Union Bank on the 300 block Brand Boulevard in June, September and October 2006, Balian said.

Police have also linked Corado to two incidents at a Wells Fargo Bank and one at a Commercia Bank in Los Angeles, he added, but they would not disclose the amount of money taken.

Corado’s aim was to approach bank tellers and slip a note under the window demanding money while showing a gun, Balian said.

Police were led to Corado by a note left at a Los Angeles bank, Balian said.

“The LAPD gave us the note, and our forensics unit was able to lift the print off of that note,” Balian said. “And that’s when we identified him.”

Corado was arrested at his home on Kenwood Street in Glendale.

Corado’s arrest Thursday marks the second of a high-profile bank robbery suspect for Glendale Police in the past six months.

In June 2006, officers apprehended the “Irreconcilable Differences Bandit” after he allegedly tried to rob a Wells Fargo Bank on the 500 block of Brand.

Alan Freibaum, who is accused of robbing 17 banks in six months, earned his moniker after he robbed his first bank in Beverly Hills, asking the teller to help him wire money in a way that would go undetected by his wife’s attorney, as he was in the middle of a divorce, said Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI.

Corado is being held without bail on a federal and state warrant. Prosecutors will determine whether federal or county attorneys will try the case.

 CHRIS WIEBE covers public safety and the courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at chris.wiebe@ latimes.com.