A suspect caught on video allegedly robbing a bank in California at gunpoint late December was a septuagenarian serial bank robber, authorities alleged Wednesday.
Bruce Edward Bell, 71, allegedly robbed a bank in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, on Dec. 21, 2023, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a statement. A surveillance video showed a suspect the LAPD alleged was Bell herding two persons who appeared to be employees into an area of the bank, allegedly motioning at gunpoint for one of them to go under a table, then producing a bag and appearing to stuff it with money.
A third employee opened drawers from which the alleged suspect appeared to seize cash and stow it away in the bag. The alleged suspect then appeared to get some more money from a bill counter, while the employees raised their hands in the air. The alleged suspect then walked out, the video showed.
Bell allegedly stole more than $60,000 from the bank, the LAPD said. Witnesses reported the alleged heist and Bell’s vehicle to the police, who then “conducted a high-risk traffic stop” and found $64,000 and a fake black gun in Bell’s car, the LAPD added. The police say they arrested Bell and booked him in jail. (RELATED: No Charges For Man Who Shot Ex-Con Robbing Restaurant With Plastic Gun, Prosecutors Say: REPORT)
Bell was on supervised release at the time of his arrest after the robbery, the LAPD said. He had been released in June 2021, having spent over 40 years in the Federal Department of Corrections after four previous convictions for bank robbery, according to the LAPD.
“Investigators believe there are other victims of robbery by Bell who have yet to be identified. Photographs of Bell are being released in order to identify and speak with additional persons who may have been victimized,” the LAPD added, while requesting victims and anyone else with further information about the robbery investigation to reach out to them.