San Diego
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A man arrested hours after a La Jolla robbery may be the Beachcomber Bandit, authorities said Thursday.
FBI agents dubbed the gunman in three robberies committed in the last month the Beachcomber Bandit because of his penchant for robbing coastal banks.
James L. Savage, 42, was arrested at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after a witness to the La Jolla robbery at 10:30 a.m. gave police a partial license plate number for the getaway car, a gray Mercedes-Benz, San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson said Thursday.
More than $2,000 was taken from the Security Pacific Bank at University Towne Centre, Robinson said.
On Tuesday, a witness to the robbery of a Del Mar bank told police of a gray Mercedes heading for the coast, Robinson said. Police began searching coastal motels and found a gray Mercedes stolen from Van Nuys at the Village Motel, 944 Camino del Mar in Del Mar.
The motel’s manager told police a man matching the description of the La Jolla bank robber had been living in Room 7 for about a month, Robinson said. Officers waited for Savage to come out of his room and arrested him. Armed with a search warrant for his room, they found a pistol, cash and clothing matching the description of those worn by the robber.
Savage was turned over to FBI agents and is being held at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown San Diego.
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