
Dressing for success, it seems, can apply to armed bank robbers. But even the best-dressed thief can hit a proverbial snag and find his best-laid plans unravel when it comes to making off with a bag of booty. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and San Diego police announced the arrest Friday of the so-called “Dapper Bandit,” a 41-year-old Fresno man linked to an armed heist at the US Bank branch at 2150 Chatsworth Blvd. in Point Loma on Dec. 27. The suspect, identified as John Richard Martinez, was nabbed around 6 p.m. while trying to cross the border from San Ysidro into the U.S., authorities said. In addition to the armed robbery in Point Loma, Martinez is also linked to similar holdups in Fresno, Thousand Oaks, Tulare and Lemoore. The man believed to be Martinez entered the Point Loma bank around 9:40 a.m. on Dec. 27, approached a teller and produced a black semi-automatic handgun as he verbally demanded cash, according to FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth. Wearing a black golf hat, dark gray or black sports jacket, a black high-collared shirt and dark-colored pants, the “Dapper Bandit” took an undisclosed amount of money and fled, Foxworth said. After the FBI and CrimeStoppers each offered rewards of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the “Dapper Bandit,” tips began to trickle in from the public. The information obtained led to the identification of Martinez, according to?FBI officials. Once identified, Martinez’s name was entered into a national law enforcement database that red-flagged officers from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency. Martinez was expected to be arraigned in San Diego court on Wednesday. He is also believed to have robbed a Rabobank branch in Tulare on Dec. 7 and a Bank of America branch in Fresno on Nov. 17.








