Police Arrest ‘Cowboy Bandit’ Suspect
PACOIMA — Police Friday captured the alleged “old cowboy bandit,†accused of at least a dozen armed robberies, after a wild car chase through city streets that ended with a scuffle and one shot fired.
A police car rammed the suspect’s dark blue Dodge, pinning it against a utility pole on Laurel Canyon Boulevard shortly after noon, according to Valley Bureau Deputy Chief Martin Pomeroy.
One officer fired a shot at the driver, missing him, for reasons still under investigation, Pomeroy said. Seconds later, police swarmed over the man as he tried to get out through the passenger-side door.
Four officers were treated by doctors for minor injuries, Pomeroy said. The bleeding driver also was taken by ambulance and treated for injuries that “were consistent with being in a traffic accident,†Pomeroy said.
Police identified the driver as Dale Sullivan, 46.
Officers recovered a starter’s pistol from the suspect’s car as well as a cowboy hat and leather jacket, apparel consistent with the outfit worn by the “old cowboy bandit,†sought by police in connection with a series of armed robberies that began in December, Pomeroy said.
“Most of the bandit’s crimes targeted small businesses in the West Valley,†according to police Lt. Anthony Alba.
Witnesses described the assailant as a man between 55 and 60 years old with bad teeth and a dirty appearance. He also wore a pony tail, which he kept tucked under his cowboy hat, and used a kitchen knife or simulated use of a handgun to commit his crimes, Alba said.
Police believe the bandit’s latest victim was a woman who was robbed Friday morning at Victory and Topanga Canyon boulevards.
Several hours after that robbery, officers from the Foothill Division saw a dark blue car in an alley in Arleta. Believing the vehicle may have been stolen, police ran a check on its license plate.
But before officers could approach the car, the driver quickly sped off, Pomeroy said. During the chase, which lasted about 10 minutes, the driver sideswiped and rammed two police vehicles, police said.
The driver took off again, at one point blowing a front tire, police said.
When the driver reached Laurel Canyon Boulevard at Pierce Street he slowed for a truck and was rammed twice by police cars, which Alba said was necessary “to prevent injuries to other people.â€
After checking the license plates of Sullivan’s vehicle, Pomeroy said the plate number was off by one letter and one digit from the description witnesses gave in several of the “old cowboy bandit’s†West Valley crimes.
Sullivan was to be booked at Van Nuys jail later Friday on charges of assaulting a police officer, Alba said.
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