Snowboarder Bandit Charged With 10 Bank Heists
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — The suspected Snowboarder Bandit has been charged with 10 Southern California bank heists.
Orange County prosecutors charged 29-year-old Michael Brandon Franks with robberies in Irvine, Laguna Hills, Anaheim Hills and Ladera Ranch.
The Riverside man showed up in a Santa Ana courtroom for arraignment on Tuesday, but the hearing was postponed until May 18. He's being held without bail.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller says bank surveillance cameras were key to the May 4 arrest of Franks.
Investigators dubbed him the Snowboarder Bandit because the unshaven thief often wore a knit cap and snowboarder clothing.
The Snowboarder Bandit was on the FBI's list of most-wanted Southern California bank robbers.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
