William Joseph Allen, 32, was arrested by LAPD and charged in an eight-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Tuesday.
In each case, the suspect left a fake bomb behind and threatened to blow the bank up. After every robbery, a bomb squad rendered the device safe.
The suspect was connected to the following robberies:
- Jan. 17: Chase Bank, 1415 Lincoln Blvd., in Venice
- Jan. 17: Bank of America, 2930 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles
- Jan. 4: Chase Bank, 11285 National Blvd., West Los Angeles
- Jan. 4: Wells Fargo, 10789 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles
- Nov. 28, 2011: Bank of America, 8655 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood
- Nov. 15, 2011: Bank of America, 2901 Eastland Center, West Covina
The arrest was the culmination of a joint investigation with Santa Monica police, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, LAPD, Baldwin Park police and El Monte police.