Countywide : Man Suspected of 21 Bank Robberies Held

Police and federal agents have arrested a Santa Ana man suspected of committing more than 20 bank robberies in Orange County during the past three months, authorities said Friday.

Daniel Joseph Marquez, 37, was arrested without incident at a Flight Avenue home Thursday afternoon in connection with the April 11 robbery of a Security Pacific National Bank branch in Santa Ana, said Gary Morley, an FBI spokesman.

Marquez was being held without bail in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, Morley said.

Federal investigators said they suspect Marquez may be responsible for 21 bank robberies committed in Orange County since March.

The robberies were reported in Santa Ana, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, Irvine and Mission Viejo. Marquez is a suspect because of his description and method of operation, Morely said.

In the April 11 robbery, a man entered the Security Pacific branch at 3730 S. Bristol St. and handed a teller a note reading “Arm rob” and demanded money, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court on Friday.

The teller handed over $2,810 in cash and the man fled the bank seconds later, the affidavit states.

Police and FBI agents went to a home in the 5000 block of Flight Avenue about 3 p.m. Thursday and arrested Marquez on a warrant, Morely said.

Federal authorities are still investigating the other robberies in which Marquez is a suspect.