Man Held in 21 Bank Robberies

NORTH HOLLYWOOD â€”  A 41-year-old man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of being the “Huck Finn Banditâ€� or “Bicycle Banditâ€� who committed 21 bank robberies in the San Fernando Valley and other parts of the Los Angeles area, authorities said.

James Arthur Pugh was taken into custody at a North Hollywood motel about 10 a.m., said Lt. James Razukas of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division. Pugh was held on suspicion of a rash of robberies in the Valley, Burbank, Glendale and other parts of Los Angeles that began May 8, Razukas said.

Authorities nicknamed the bandit after his holdup style: He wore a fisherman’s hat that reminded some of the floppy style associated with Mark Twain’s fictional hero, and he rode away from the banks on a bicycle to a waiting getaway car.

Police said Pugh was seen Thursday driving a car matching the description of one used in a Santa Clarita robbery. Sheriff’s deputies followed that car to the Valley, where LAPD officers stopped it and arrested two accomplices, but Pugh ran away, Razukas said.

According to police, Pugh immediately hijacked another car and robbed the First Citizen’s Bank in the 5000 block of Van Nuys Boulevard. The next day, police say, Pugh held up the Glendale Federal Bank branch in the 12100 block of Ventura Boulevard.

On Tuesday, the alleged bandit’s luck ran out. Officers from the North Hollywood Station sighted a stolen vehicle at a motel that Pugh allegedly had driven in two robberies, Razukas said.

Detectives from the Robbery Homicide division and North Hollywood patrol officers surrounded the motel and found Pugh hiding in his motel room, Razukas said. Pugh tried to escape, but officers headed him off and arrested him, Razukas said.

Pugh was booked at the North Hollywood jail, authorities said.