Suspected ‘Mr. Magoo Bandit,’ Partner Held in 23 Bank Robberies

Police have arrested a transient--nicknamed the “Mr. Magoo bandit” for his thick prescription glasses--who allegedly robbed 23 banks in Los Angeles and Orange counties over the past seven months.

Robert Michael Graham, 33, was taken into custody in Long Beach, just minutes after he allegedly robbed the Great Western Savings office at 5200 East 2nd St., Torrance police spokesman Ron Traber said.

Arrested along with Graham was his suspected getaway driver, Kraig Fujinaka, 30, of Long Beach, Traber said.

Both men were held without bail at the Torrance jail. They are expected to be arraigned today.

Torrance police made the arrest and took a special interest in the case because seven of the robberies were committed in their city, more than in any other community.

Graham and Fujinaka are believed also to have hit banks and savings and loans in Lakewood, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Rolling Hills Estates, Anaheim, Hawthorne, San Luis Obispo, Westlake Village, Garden Grove and Culver City, authorities said.

The robberies usually netted between $2,500 and $6,000, one Torrance police officer said.

Police Tipped Off

Torrance detectives said they began to close in on Graham recently, when they were tipped off that he was working with Fujinaka.

About a week ago, detectives began a regular sunrise-to-sunset surveillance outside Fujinaka’s home on Rose Avenue in Long Beach, Torrance Police Lt. Dave Marsden said.

They had not seen anyone matching the “Mr. Magoo” description--a thin white man in his early 30s with brown hair, acne scars and thick glasses, with a resemblance to the popular cartoon character--until Graham walked out of the home with Fujinaka on Tuesday morning, Marsden said.

“We just said ‘Holy Cow!’ ” Marsden said. “That was a very pleasant surprise.”

Traber said Fujinaka and Graham left the apartment at 8 a.m., and rented a late-model car in Long Beach. They drove around for more than two hours, stopping once outside a bank in Torrance before returning to Long Beach and robbing the Great Western Savings, Traber said.

Torrance detectives said they pulled over the rented car a mile away and arrested the two men without incident.

The string of 23 alleged robberies does not approach the record for the Los Angeles area, FBI spokesman Fred Reagan said. Edward C. Dodson was accused of robbing 64 banks over six months in 1983 and 1984.

But authorities said that the Mr. Magoo bandit was remarkable for his feverish pace. Graham stands accused of robbing four banks in one hour on March 30 and three banks in just 50 minutes the following day.