Accused 'Hills Bandit' Pleads Not Guilty, Charged in 8 Bank Robberies

The man charged as the “Hills Bandit” pleaded not guilty Monday to eight bank robberies from Laguna Niguel to Santa Barbara.

A trial date of Jan. 6 was set for Stephen Richard Bartlett, 53, who made his initial appearance in federal court Oct. 3 for allegedly robbing a Citibank at 24221 Calle De La Louisa in Laguna on July 16, getting away with $5,460. On Thursday, he was charged with seven more holdups.

FBI Special Agent Christopher Gicking said Bartlett handed a demand note to a teller at the Laguna Hills bank that said: “This is a robbery, I have a gun. Give me your 20s, 50s and 100s from both drawers.”

Bartlett is also charged with these holdups:

• On May 6 at a Wells Fargo branch at 25632 Alicia Parkway in Laguna Hills in which $14,578 was taken;
• On July 25, at a Citibank at 23562 El Toro Road in Lake Forest in which $11,249 was stolen;
• On Aug. 8, at a U.S. Bank branch at 24340 El Toro Road in Laguna Woods in which $8,078 was taken;
• On Aug. 22, at a Wells Fargo branch at 30160 Town Center Drive in Laguna Niguel in which $9,600 was stolen;
• On Sept. 8, at a U.S. Bank branch at 30000 Town Center Drive in Laguna Niguel in which $2,810 was taken;
• On Sept. 15, at a Bank of the West branch at 3780 State St. in Santa Barbara in which $4,375 was stolen;
• And on Sept. 26, at a Montecito Bank and Trust at 3802 S. State St. in Santa Barbara in which $1,829 was taken.

FBI agents believe Bartlett robbed six banks in Orange County, two in San Diego County, two in Santa Barbara, a bank in San Ramon, and one in Granite City, Gicking said. He’s also suspected in an attempted bank robbery in San Diego County, he said.

After the robbery, a dye pack slipped in with the cash exploded in the suspect’s car, Gicking said.

Bartlett was arrested about a month ago when he crashed at the end of a 90-minute chase that began in Santa Fe Springs when police were alerted to a possibly fraudulent order for about $12,000 worth of steel at a business. Responding officers spotted the suspect in a stakebed truck, but he refused to stop.

The pursuit continued on multiple freeways, briefly reaching into La Habra before the suspect headed east on the Pomona (60) Freeway into Riverside and drove north on the 215 Freeway toward San Bernardino.

At one point, the motorist drove south in the northbound lanes of the 215 Freeway, then made a U-turn across all lanes and headed into San Bernardino County. He eventually lost control of the truck on the westbound 210 Freeway just west of the 215 Freeway and crashed alongside the freeway, with the truck rolling onto the driver’s side.

Bartlett crawled out of the passenger-side door and surrendered.

Bartlett, whose driver’s license shows an address in Nevada, is suspected of causing two crashes during the chase, one of them involving a California Highway Patrol vehicle, according to the CHP.

While being chased in Santa Fe Springs, he threw a gun from the vehicle that was recovered. It, however, turned out to be a replica of a semiautomatic pistol, according to Whittier police.

— City News Service