'Hit and Run Bandit' Suspects Behind Bars

A man arrested in El Cajon on Friday on suspicion of stealing a bank bag from is possibly the "Hit and Run Bandit," who has been knocking down women bank employees and stealing the money bags they are carrying.

Eight similar crimes have been committed since May 19 in Santee, La Mesa and San Diego at other Bank of America locations, El Cajon police Lt. Jeff Arvan said.

Alex Smith, 27, was chased down about 4 p.m. Friday near Fletcher Parkway and Johnson Avenue. He is locked up on suspicion of grand theft, but he could face other charges. The bank bag in Friday's incident was returned to the bank.

One of the suspected thefts occurred in San Diego on June 14, when a woman in her 70s was knocked to the ground and may have suffered a broken hip, police said.

Smith fits the general description of the "Hit and Run Bandit.'' He is being held on $25,000 bail and scheduled for arraignment Tuesday.   

According to the Union Tribune, though, another suspect was arrested in a similar crime in El Cajon near a Wells Fargo Bank branch Thursday afternoon.

City News Service contributed to this report.