FBI: Facebook Helps Nab Prolific OC Bank Robber

Authorities today announced the arrest of the alleged Whitewashed Bandit, who’s suspected of robbing five banks in the Southland.

Brian Lee Bellman, 35, of Bakersfield, was arrested Wednesday night in Covina, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller, and was expected to make his first appearance in federal court in Santa Ana this afternoon.

So far, Bellman is charged with robbing the East West Bank branch at 5402 Walnut Ave. in Irvine on Feb. 16. But he is also suspected of robbing four other banks, three in Orange County and one in Valencia, Eimiller said.

FBI Special Agent Chris Gicking previously told City News Service that he suspects Bellman is also the Gone Plaid Bandit, who’s wanted in connection with at least a dozen holdups over three years. Investigators are still working to see if there was a connection.

In the East West holdup, Bellman is accused of demanding cash from the bank’s manager at gunpoint. He allegedly got away with about $5,205.

The defendant got the Whitewashed Bandit moniker for wearing a white fedora and white long-sleeved shirt.

Before the 3 p.m. holdup at the East West Bank branch, Bellman is suspected of robbing a Union Bank branch at 701 W. Weir Canyon Road in Anaheim. In that heist, the robber got away with about $222, according to the FBI.

Investigators were able to get surveillance video footage of the East West Bank robber driving away in a Subaru Impreza. A partial view of the license plate helped lead investigators to Bellman.

Investigators also linked Bellman to the robberies by reasoning that he used a pellet gun in the robberies because it’s difficult for felons to obtain real weapons. They traced the sale back to a Walmart store in Orange, according to the FBI.

Detectives also traced the sale of a shirt the suspect wore in the heists to a store in Orange County, where the defendant’s friend bought it, according to the FBI. A search of the customer’s Facebook page showed he was friends with Bellman, who was identified by tellers in photographic lineups, according to the FBI.

Bellman is also suspected of the following heists:

• A U.S. Bank branch at 28313 Newhall Ranch Road in Valencia on Feb. 10 of $824;
• A Comerica Bank at 2500 E. Imperial Highway in Brea on Feb. 12 of about $2,413 and;
• An Opus Bank branch at 17672 Yorba Linda Blvd. of about $2,000.

The Gone Plaid Bandit, whose spree appears to have started on Feb. 17, 2010, is suspected of the following heists:

• April 15, 2013, at an Opus Bank branch in Yorba Linda and a U.S. Bank branch in Laguna Niguel;
• April 26, 2013, at a Comerica Bank branch in Marina del Rey and a U.S. Bank branch at 157 N. Larchmont Blvd. in Los Angeles;
• Feb. 7, 2011, at Wells Fargo branch in Yorba Linda;
• Feb. 11, 2011, at a Chase bank branch in Anaheim Hills;
• May 16, 2011, at an East West Bank branch in Irvine;
• Jan. 6, 2012, at the Orange County Credit Union office in Yorba Linda;
• Jan. 9, 2012, at a Chase bank branch in Mission Viejo;
• Jan. 18, 2012, at the same East West Bank branch in Irvine he robbed in 2011; and
• May 11, 2012, at a Wells Fargo branch in Yorba Linda.

City News Service