The man suspected of robbing a Midway Drive bank twice, and a bank on Genesee Ave. as part of the “Bag Trick Bandit” series has a preliminary hearing set for March 29.
Jonathan Kevin McCant, 39, is accused of stealing $12,138 from four hold-ups in which the same teller at the U.S. Bank at 3645 Midway Drive was robbed twice on different days, according to court documents.
The reason for the nickname is due to the suspect putting his hand into a bag as if he was holding a gun to the teller at the start of the series, which began Dec. 21, 2016, and ended Jan. 22. Charges say McCant displayed a black handgun in the last three robberies.
McCant has pleaded not guilty to four robberies, two attempted robberies at other banks, stealing a U-Haul truck, and evading police officers with reckless driving. He was arrested Jan. 23 by San Diego Police after they followed him in a stolen U-Haul truck with missing license plates.
Officers illuminated their red lights and sirens and McCant drove the U-Haul into a median. It jumped a curb, hit two parked cars, a road sign, and continued into the YMCA Mission Valley parking lot. He crashed into a parked car and fled on foot.
Officers commanded him to come out of some brush, but he refused until a police dog was released and bit him. Police recovered clothing worn in the first two robberies in the U-Haul, but none of the money was found.
McCant is charged with robbing the same teller twice in robberies on Jan. 8 and 22 in the Midway Drive bank. He concealed a pistol in a grocery shopping bag to a female teller and allegedly robbed her. He then gave a bag to a male teller, pointed a gun at him, and demanded he fills the bag as well.
A San Diego Superior Court judge set bail at $800,000. He remains in the Vista Detention Facility. Court records say he was convicted of auto theft in 2004 and grand theft in 2015.