71-year-old serial bank robber arrested
By Dean Fioresi
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LOS ANGELES, California (KCAL) — Police have again arrested a serial bank robber who has already spent 40 years behind bars for a series of similar crimes.
The 71-year-old suspect, identified by Los Angeles Police Department as Bruce Edward Bell, was arrested on on Dec. 21 after he left the scene of yet another bank robbery, according to a statement from the department.
During the robbery, police say that Bell entered a bank, located in the 8000 block of Vineland Avenue in Sun Valley, where he grabbed an employee and held them at gunpoint as he forced them to allow him entry into a restricted-access door.
He told the employee that if they didn’t let him in, he would shoot them, police said.
“Once inside, Bell ordered another employee to fill his bag with cash,” the LAPD statement said. “Bell fled from the location with over $60,000.00.”
Witnesses called 911 to report that they had seen Bell fleeing from the bank in a 2002 silver Volvo sedan and responding officers spotted the car a short distance away.
They conducted a “high-risk traffic stop,” during which they were able to take Bell into custody. They also said that they recovered a replica firearm from inside of the car and the bag filled with $64,000 in cash.
Police said that Bell has four prior bank robbery convictions, which has led to his serving more than 40 years in the Federal Department of Corrections.
He was released in 2021 and on supervised release at the time of the most recent robbery and arrest.
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