BANDITS GO IT ALONE AT BANKS SOLO MIDDLE-AGE MEN PULLING OFF MORE HEISTS.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

Bank robberies might be down in Los Angeles, but holdups by lone pistol- packing men with nicknames like ``The Armed Old Man Bandit'' and ``The Big Belly Bandit'' have helped preserve the region's reputation as the nation's bank-heist capital.

Violent bank takeovers by large gangs - typically made up of 18- to 30-year-olds - have declined since their peak in the early 1990s, largely because many gangs have been rounded up and because of tougher security measures, officials said.

The trend is toward ``note job'' heists - about 75 percent of all holdups this year - often committed by middle-age and older ex-convicts.

``It's not that uncommon to have an older bank robber. A lot of times, it's individuals who have served time, in many cases for bank robberies,'' FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

While some brandish guns, scream obscenities and threaten nervous employees, others are polite and wait in line with other customers before passing a discreet note to the teller, she said.

One even abandoned a Glendale heist when a teller began crying. A suspect was arrested later that day, alleged to have been looking for another bank to rob.

``What we're seeing out in the Valley are individuals who enter the banks with a demand note with instructions on it to the teller that threatens or implies that he has a weapon,'' said Deputy Chief Michel Moore, who heads the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Bureau.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation does not break down the number of heists by individuals, though local law enforcement officials say the anecdotal evidence points to a growing trend of lone robbers.

Overall, bank robberies in the county have fallen from a high of 2,641 in 1992 to just 537 last year, according to the FBI. So far this year, robberies are down from the same period in 2004.

Despite the dramatic drop, Los Angeles still leads the nation in bank heists.

``We're not proud of it, but ... here in the L.A. area, we have more bank robberies than any other metropolitan area in the country,'' Eimiller said. ``But as you can see, we're working on lowering them.''

San Francisco, Boston and New York usually vie for second place, she said.

Ironically, one of the most elusive lone robbers doesn't even bother to hide his face with a mask or stocking. Dubbed The Armed Old Man Bandit, this white man in his mid-50s with sandy blond hair has pulled off five holdups since March, including one in Glendale and two in the San Fernando Valley.

He doesn't appear to have a getaway car, he always carries a briefcase and a red gasoline can and he has a reputation for being one of the crankiest robbers out there, Eimiller said.

In Sherman Oaks, the bandit wore a baseball hat and shouted, ``Don't touch the alarms! Don't give me any exploding money!''

On Sept. 29, he entered a bank in Pacific Palisades and fired a gun. No one was hurt, Eimiller said.

``He's very threatening,'' Eimiller said. ``He uses profanity and intimidates the tellers by shouting. He claims he has a bomb and says he'll hurt someone if he has to.''

The Armed Old Man Bandit struck Bank of the West in Sherman Oaks on March 17, Manufacturer's Bank in Encino on May 13, Bank of Orange in Glendale on Aug. 17, and Washington Mutual in Pacific Palisades on Aug. 22.

This summer, the FBI started hunting a similar robber dubbed ``The Senior Citizen Bandit.'' The gun-toting senior, believed to be in his 70s, wears a baseball cap and sunglasses. He's been captured on surveillance tapes pointing a gun at a teller. He robbed three Orange County banks in one week in July.

Bank robberies have declined largely because banks have dramatically upgraded security measures. Improvements include armed security guards, bullet-resistant teller barriers, and digital surveillance systems that transfer photos of suspects to police.

``Banks are taking extreme measures when it comes to security, and take loss of life as a primary concern,'' said Annisa Yates, spokeswoman for the California Bankers Association.

Police have had some success nabbing lone robbers.

On Thursday, a man dubbed The Dreadlocks Bandit was convicted of robbing a series of banks in Los Angeles County, including one in Glendale, after getting out of federal prison, where he did time for a similar spree in the late 1980s.

A Torrance Superior Court jury found 54-year-old David Lee Robinson guilty of 19 counts of second-degree robbery, along with three counts of attempted robbery.

In nearly all of the holdups, which collectively netted him about $66,000, Robinson had his hair in dreadlocks. He faces more than 1,200 years in prison when he is sentenced in November.

One robber earned the nickname The Big Belly Bandit due to his prodigious waistline. Stewart Essrig, 51, who police believe is the bandit, was arrested this summer. He was accused of looking for a bank to rob after giving up on a Glendale robbery when the teller began weeping.

He was booked on suspicion of four counts of robbery. Essrig carried a replica of a 9 mm handgun and was arrested with an accomplice who served only as a driver, according to police.

``The reality is that while these robbers are given these affectionate names, they are criminals and are violent,'' Moore of the LAPD said. ``They are desperate.''

Staff Writer Josh Kleinbaum and City News Service contributed to this report.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, chart

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) A robber is caught on camera at a bank.

(4 -- 5 -- color) Above and at right, surveillance tape shows robberies in progress at Los Angeles banks. ``It's not that uncommon to have an older bank robber,'' FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

Chart:

Stick 'Em Up

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation