A prolific robber has held up nearly five dozen gas stations in Los Angeles and Orange counties during the past year, and authorities Thursday asked for the public’s help to track down the so-called “Midnight Bandit.”
The man typically holds up lone gas station clerks between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., stealing money from the register while armed with a handgun, according to the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department.
Since April 2012, he has allegedly robbed 58 gas stations in at least 18 Southland communities, the department said in a news release. His most recent suspect heist happened on May 22.
Investigators shared details last year about the string of station robberies, but on Thursday released more information on the “Midnight Bandit.”
He was spotted on surveillance video March 14 before and after one of the few daytime armed robberies he has been linked to. He was driving a silver gray, 2000-2004 Jaguar S-type with four doors.
That robbery went down about 9:30 a.m. in the 3800 block of Florence Avenue in Bell.
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Pictured at right, the alleged "Midnight Bandit" is described as a black male in his late 20s, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall, and about 180 to 200 pounds.
He is usually casually dressed, wearing shorts, a button-down shirt and a baseball cap.
The “Midnight Bandit” has been linked to gas-station robberies in Anaheim, Bell, Buena Park, Burbank, Culver City, Garden Grove, Glendale, Huntington Park, La Palma, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Los Alamitos, Monterey Park, Newport Beach, Pasadena, Santa Monica, South Gate and Torrance.
No one at those gas stations have been hurt in the heists because the victims have complied, detectives said.
Authorities said the man should be considered armed and dangerous.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Major Crimes Bureau is conducting a joint investigation with 18 other SoCal jurisdictions. Anyone with information can call the department at 562-946-7010 or 323-526-5541.
NBC4's Toni Guinyard contributed to this report.