Local News in Brief : 1 of 12 ‘Most Wanted’ Suspects Surrenders

A Canoga Park man on a list of 12 “most wanted” bank robbers in Los Angeles turned himself in to police Thursday at the urging of three friends who saw his picture on television, authorities said.

Photographs of suspects in 42 Los Angeles-area bank robberies were displayed at a Los Angeles Police Department news conference Wednesday, Lt. Dan Cooke said. Among the photos, he said, was one of Donald Cummings, 20, who surrendered to authorities about 2:15 p.m. at the West Valley police station.

Cummings, who is suspected of robbing three West Valley-area banks, was one of those most wanted by police, Cooke said.

“We were more concerned about him than some of the others because he had been so active over such a short period of time,” Cooke said. “We figured, in all probability, he would be hitting more banks, so we made a point of pointing him out at the news conference.”

Cooke said a friend of the suspect first saw Cummings’ picture and contacted two other people. The three convinced Cummings to surrender and accompanied him to the police station, he said.

Photographs of the 12 suspects were taken by cameras hidden in the banks, Cooke said. The men are believed to have stolen about $100,000 in a period of about 18 months, Cooke said.