BANK ROBBERY SUSPECT SOUGHT.Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer Law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Tuesday released the identity of the suspected ``cell phone bandit bandit: see brigandage. ,'' a man believed to have robbed at least 30 banks in the state, including a California Federal branch in Westlake Village earlier this month. At a press conference in Torrance, the Torrance Police Department The Torrance Police Department is the police department serving Torrance, California. The department employs 240 sworn officers and 100 civilians. The department is the largest law enforcement agency in South Bay and is one of the largest police departments in Los Angeles and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice charged with investigating all violations of federal laws except those assigned to some other federal agency. asked for the public's help in catching 36-year-old James Joseph Lizotte, who is believed to be a South Bay resident. FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said Lizotte is being tied to the most recent Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by robbery on Aug. 15 at the California Federal Bank California Federal Bank, often abbreviated to "Cal Fed", was a savings and loan bank in California. It existed from 1926 until 2002, when its parent company Golden State Bancorp was acquired by Citigroup, resulting in the bank being merged into Citibank. at 3696 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. in Westlake Village - one of 14 robberies in the Simi and Conejo valleys this year. The suspect in that robbery was wearing a green baseball cap, sunglasses, a white polo shirt and knee-length green shorts. Lizotte is believed to have hit banks in San Francisco, San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles since September 1999. He was dubbed the cell phone bandit because he uses a cell phone while waiting in line for a bank teller. He typically approaches the teller and verbally demands money, authorities said. He has been seen in possession of a handgun in 20 of the 30 robberies to which he is linked, authorities said. The handgun is usually in a zipper zipper Device for binding the edges of an opening, as on a garment or a bag. A zipper consists of two strips of material with metal or plastic teeth along the edges, and a sliding piece that interlocks the teeth when moved in one direction and separates them again when moved type organizer or canvas bag. Lizotte is Caucasian, between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10, and weighs about 185 pounds. He is believed to be a hairdresser, and his hair is sometimes blond and sometimes brown. He has visible acne scars on his face and is known to wear dark sunglasses with a baseball cap or a floppy fisherman's hat. Authorities said he is known to frequent clubs in the Hollywood area. Lizotte served a five-year federal prison term for bank robbery in 1991. Washington Mutual Bank, which he is believed to have hit six times throughout the state, is offering a reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Anyone who has information about Lizotte is asked to call a 24-hour hotline at the Torrance Police Department at (310) 996-3341. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The public's help is sought in catching 36-year-old James Joseph Lizotte. |
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