A bank robber nicknamed the “purse-packing bandit” struck again on May 17, robbing a Chase Bank branch in the 6100 block of West Pico Blvd.

Nicknamed the “purse-packing bandit,” this woman has allegedly committed eight robberies since late 2012. (photo courtesy of the LAPD)

The incident is the eighth robbery attributed to the purse-packing bandit since October 2012, when the female suspect began robbing bank branches in West Hollywood, Hollywood, the Fairfax District and Wilshire area. Police nicknamed the suspect the purse-packing bandit because she carries a large handbag during the robberies.

“She is still out there. She is still active,” said Det. Tracey Benjamin, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. “She’s hard to catch because she is so random. The only thing consistent is she hits prior to closing.”

The suspect entered the Chase Bank branch at approximately 5 p.m. and handed a note to a teller demanding money. Benjamin said the suspect brandished a handgun. No injuries occurred, but the bank employees were traumatized, she added. No getaway vehicle was observed.

The suspect is described an African American woman between 35 and 40 years old, approximately five feet two to five feet four inches tall, and 120 to 140 pounds. She has worn a wig and sunglasses during each of the robberies.

The robbery spree began at a Citibank branch in the 8000 block of Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood on Oct. 20, 2012. The suspect struck again at a Chase Bank branch at 300 N. Fairfax Ave. on Nov. 14, 2012, and later robbed a Bank of America branch in the 8000 block of Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood on Dec. 20, 2012. She robbed another Chase Bank Branch in the 3700 block of Crenshaw Blvd. on Dec. 24, 2012.

No bank robberies were attributed to the purse packing bandit in 2013, but she resurfaced in January, when she allegedly robbed a bank in the 1900 block of Hillhurst Ave. in the Los Feliz District on Jan. 9. She later robbed a Chase Bank branch at the Beverly Connection on Jan. 28, struck again on Feb. 21 at a Citibank branch in the 300 block of S. Fairfax Ave. and robbed a Bank of America branch in the 400 block of N. La Brea Ave. on March 27.

Benjamin is hopeful someone can provide information about the suspect’s identity, and is asking anyone with information to contact investigators with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division at (213)486-6840. Tips can also be provided to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station at (310)855-8850 or the FBI at (310)477-6565.