The “Penny-Pincher Bandit” armed robber who was killed by police after a wild San Fernando Valley chase has been identified.
The coroner’s office said he was Juan Andres Barillas, 37, of North Hollywood.
The suspect was nicknamed the “Penny-Pincher Bandit” because he reached into the “take-a-penny-leave-a-penny” tray during the robbery of a Canoga Park convenience store at gunpoint just before midnight a week ago Saturday.
The suspect also made off with cigarettes and more than $800 in cash, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The pursuit began when undercover LAPD detectives were in the area of Kittridge Street and Radford Avenue investigating a series of robberies in the San Fernando Valley and Burbank.
They came across a possible suspect, who fled in a silver BMW, prompting a short chase and the subsequent shooting.
The wounded suspect now identified as Barillas was taken to a hospital, where he died, LAPD Lt. Chris Ramirez said.
No officers were injured.
Meanwhile, police in Burbank and Los Angeles are investigating the suspect’s connection to a 37-year-old Georgia man named Michael Clouse, who was arrested about 7 p.m. Thursday outside a hotel in the 11200 block of Vanowen Street in North Hollywood, Burbank police Sgt. Derek Green said.
Clouse allegedly committed armed robberies early Monday at a Subway sandwich shop and a nearby 7-Eleven store, both in Burbank, Green said.
Investigators believe the same suspect robbed at least two other 7- Eleven stores in the North Hollywood area, Green said.
Green said Burbank police believe Clouse was acquainted with the Penny- Pincher Bandit, but it was unclear if the two men had committed crimes together.
Clouse was booked on suspicion of robbery and was being held on $200,000 bail, Green said.
–City News Service
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