Just a few days after the FBI asked for the public’s help locating a bank robber known as the “Rolled Sleeves Bandit” — whose seven bank robberies included two in Santa Monica — authorities have confirmed they have a suspect in federal custody in Los Angeles.
Damian Loren Newhart, 38, of Newport Beach, was arrested following a tip Thursday from someone who saw one of many published reports about the search for the Rolled Sleeves Bandit and recognized the suspect.
Newhart is only accused of robbing a Citibank branch at 1505 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, on Jan. 14, according to an FBI criminal complaint.
However, he is suspected of robbing a OneWest branch at 1630 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, on Jan. 26, of about $1,310, plus five other bank robberies in Los Angeles and Orange County that date back to November 2014.
In the Montana Avenue robbery, Newhart told a teller in the morning stickup that his girlfriend had a business account and wanted to know more about cashier’s checks and money orders, according to the FBI complaint.
Then the Rolled Sleeves Bandit put a piece of paper on the counter that threatened he had a gun and that he wanted 20s, 50s, and 100s in the next 30 seconds, the FBI alleged.
The teller handed over $3,880 before activating an alarm as the robber fled with the loot, according to the FBI.
Santa Monica police conducting surveillance at a Newhart Dental Center at 3516 W. Imperial Highway in Inglewood, saw the suspect and arrested him about 4:45 p.m. Thursday.
The Rolled Sleeves Bandit also is suspected of robbing a OneWest Bank branch, 1100 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach, of $1,674, on Nov. 14; a Citibank branch at 20981 Magnolia St., Huntington Beach, on Dec. 6, of about $3,013; a Citibank branch at 2710 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach, on Dec. 22, of about $7,149; a Bank of the West branch, 19006 Brookhurst St., Huntington Beach, on Wednesday of about $1,066; and a U.S. Bank branch at 19900 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, on Wednesday, of about $3,000.
