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Dec 4, 2008 5:46 pm US/Pacific
'Empty Pockets' Bandit Strikes Again...And Again
ALISO VIEJO
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The Empty Pockets Bandit successfully robbed a bank in Laguna Niguel after two previous failed attempts elsewhere.
CBS
Police might have to change his name from "Empty Pockets" bandit to "Can He Keep Robbing Banks Before He Is Caught?" bandit.
The bandit formerly-known as "Empty Pockets" struck Thursday in Orange County. To hear the police tell it, he officially struck twice.
Now they are looking to strike back.
He pulled off the robberies Thursday within one half hour of each other, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
He first robbed a Citibank branch (like Citibank doesn't have enough trouble these days?) on Del Obispo Street in San Juan Capistrano at approximately 2 p.m. If you find that hard to swallow, he struck again at a Downey Savings office inside a Ralph's supermarket on Aliso Creek Road in Aliso Viejo.
The "Empty Pockets" bandit first earned his nickname for two failed armed robbery attempts on November 26 and December 1. His first failed attempt was at a Washington Mutual in Mission Viejo and then a different Bank of America branch in Aliso Viejo.
The bandit escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash Wednesday when he held up a Bank of America branch inside an Albertson's in Laguna Niguel.
Wednesday's stick-up was the first time the bandit reportedly showed a weapon. In previous heists, or attempted heists, he only said he had a gun.
Amormino says the "Empty Pockets" bandit is described as late 30s to early 40s, 5'11" inches tall and he weighs about 200 pounds. He is believed to be a mix of white and Filipino. An eyewitness heard him speaking Filipino on a phone.
Amormino says the suspect should be considered "armed and dangerous."
Anyone with information about the suspect was urged to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department at (714) 628-7170.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
