Retired officer arrested in La Habra bank robbery
The suspect was in the Pasadena Police Department for eight years. The FBI is investigating whether he's connected to a string of robberies in 2006.
A retired Pasadena police officer was arrested in connection with a La Habra bank robbery, and FBI agents are investigating possible links to a string of similar robberies by a man known as the "Polite Bandit," authorities said.
Vincent Cantu, 44, of Whittier was arrested Friday after police spotted him driving away from the Banco Popular at 401 E. Whittier Blvd. that had just been robbed at 11:15 a.m., said La Habra police spokeswoman Cindy Knapp. Cantu's car, a silver Toyota FJ Cruiser, fit a description of the robber's vehicle, Knapp said.
It was unclear whether cash was recovered from Cantu's car, Knapp said. No one was injured during the robbery and arrest, she said.
Cantu was arrested on suspicion of robbery, taken to an Orange County jail and released Saturday after posting bond, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. She did not know the bond amount.
Knapp would not say whether evidence or witness interviews connect Friday's incident to previous Polite Bandit robberies, referring questions to the FBI.
"The indications were that he was polite and he did have a gun," she said of the suspect in Friday's robbery.
The Polite Bandit struck the Banco Popular at 12333 S. La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada on May 25 and Aug. 28, 2006, and the Banco Popular at 3160 Colima Road in Hacienda Heights on Nov. 23, 2006.
Witnesses came up with the name Polite Bandit because they said the robber apologized to bank tellers, thanked them and said he was only trying to feed his children. He was described as Latino, 30 to 40 years old, about 200 pounds and 5-feet-8 to 5-feet-9 inches tall, with a mustache and stocky build. He usually wears sunglasses and a black bandanna over his face.
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, said agents are still trying to determine whether Cantu is the Polite Bandit.
"There's some similarities in the M.O. and the fact that he was robbing a Banco Popular," she said.
An eight-year veteran of the Pasadena Police Department, Cantu retired in 1996, according to department spokeswoman Janet Pope Givens. He had served on the board of Murphy Ranch Little League in Whittier, where he also coached. A profile on the league website created by Vince and Susie Cantu notes, "I pitch, play outfield, and [am] a solid line drive hitter," and says his two boys also play baseball.
He did not respond to e-mail today and could not be reached by phone.
molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com
