REGION: FBI says 'Grandpa Bandit' is in custody

Suspect may have robbed several North County banks

By COLLEEN MENSCHING - Staff Writer | Monday, November 3, 2008 8:08 PM PST ∞

Officials say a bank robber dubbed the "Grandpa Bandit" is in custody ---- and that he's a former police officer.

Frank Holder, 61, a retired Pomona police sergeant, was arrested Wednesday after a robbery in Rancho Cucamonga, said Laura Eimiller, Los Angeles-area spokeswoman for the FBI.

The bureau's Los Angeles office also suspects Holder, of San Bernardino County, of heists in Escondido and Glendora, Eimiller said.

Earlier this year, FBI officials in San Diego blamed the Grandpa Bandit for four North County robberies since 2007: two in Escondido, one in Carlsbad and one committed in San Marcos during the 2007 wildfires.

"As in any bank robbery scenario where we're dealing with a serial bandit, there's an ongoing investigation into whether he committed the robberies he's accused of and whether he is responsible for any other crimes," Eimiller said.

The Grandpa Bandit earned his nickname because of his apparent age, belly and white hair.

Officials from the San Diego office were not available to comment Monday on whether they believe Holder is the Grandpa Bandit they've been seeking.

Holder is not the first former police officer accused of robbery this year.

A former Pasadena officer was arrested in August on suspicion of robbing a La Habra bank at gunpoint.

Security expert and former police officer John D. Moore of Spokane, Wash., said it is unlikely that a police officer could use advanced technical knowledge to commit a bank robbery unless the officer had worked in a special investigative unit.

"I think the answer is a lot simpler than that ---- stupidity runs in every profession," said Moore, head of Armed Robbery Training Associates.

Daniel R. Sullivan, a former Los Angeles police officer who heads Burbank-based Investigative Services Corporation, agreed.

Police officers might be familiar with basic bank security procedures and how fast police response times are in a given area, Sullivan said.

But they would also know that bank robbery is a federal offense investigated by the FBI, Sullivan said.

"For police officers who are inclined to be crooks, there are far better ways to be a crook than to rob a bank," he said. "For a police officer to decide to go hold up a bank really is an act of desperation. He's got to really have a psychological problem."

Eimiller said that most bank robbery suspects are desperate, but declined to comment on what motive Holder might have for committing the crimes.

Holder is being held without bail at a federal detention center in Santa Ana and is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing Nov. 17, she said.

Contact staff writer Colleen Mensching at (760) 739-6675 or cmensching@nctimes.com.