'Tiger Bandit' Bank Robbery Suspect Captured

A man the F.B.I. nicknamed the "Tiger Bandit" after he allegedly robbed several local banks while wearing a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, has been arrested in Compton, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department said Friday.

Winston Damian Evans, 32, is suspected of holding up six or more bank between Nov. 30 and Dec. 7, the Sheriff's Dept. said, in announcing the suspect's Tuesday arrest in Compton.

Evans is suspected in bank robberies in Long Beach, Cerritos, and many other cities, including among the most recent robberies, in Lomita, near the Rolling Hills Estates city border. Other banks he allegedly robbed were in Santa Monica and Marina del Rey.

A news release by the Sheriff's Dept. said Evans admitted his role in the robberies, and bank robbery charges were filed against him on Thursday.

Evans, 32, was located Tuesday, December 4, 2012, at a relatives house in the City of Compton, where a search warrant was served," the Sheriff's release stated. "Clothing believed to have been worn during the robberies and a quantity of cash was recovered during the search. Detectives also seized a silver Nissan Altima, which matched the surveillance video image of the getaway car used during the Santa Monica robbery." 

During a subsequent interview, Evans implicated himself in all five of the robberies, the release said.

Robberies linked to the Tiger Bandit occurred in Cerritos on Nov. 23, Long Beach and Marina del Rey on Nov. 24, Santa Monica on Nov. 27, Huntington Beach on Nov. 29 and Lomita on Nov. 30.