A 49-year-old Corona man was arrested in mid-December after allegedly robbing a bank in Redlands. Police believe he is 'The Buttondown Bandit,' to whom they attribute five Southern California bank robberies over the past month.
According to the Press-Enterprise, the man is believed to have robbed the Pacific Western Bank location in the 200 block of East State Street in Redlands on Monday, Dec. 9.
The man was arrested Dec. 11 in the 600 block of Montclair's West La Deney Street. He was booked into Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of robbery, evading police and possessing methamphetamine. His bail was set at $1 million.
Police think the man is also behind four other robberies that have occurred since Nov. 15 -- in the communities of La Quinta, Corona, Riverside, Seal Beach and Yorba Linda -- because he matches the description of the suspect in each case. In each robbery, the suspect wore a button-down shirt and handed the teller a handwritten note demanding cash.
In cases like this, in which the public is very aware that a suspect is at large and wants very much to see him or her brought to justice, it is vitally important to protect the rights of the accused. That is because sometimes, police and prosecutors jump the gun, so to speak, in their eagerness to identify a perpetrator.
At the Law Office of Nicolai Cocis, we protect the rights of accused people from the Riverside County communities of Temecula, Corona, Lake Elsinore, Hemet and Murrieta. To learn more about our law firm, please feel free to contact us.