Accused 'Bad Hair Bandit' Cynthia Van Holland Arrested In California

Alleged 'Bad Hair Bandit' Arrested

A woman dubbed the "Bad Hair Bandit" during a series of alleged bank robberies throughout the West was caught after a heist in California, the FBI says.

The suspect, Cynthia Van Holland, 46, picked up the nickname because of her penchant for wearing ugly wigs during 20 holdups in Washington, Montana and Oregon since last December, TV station KING reported.

Placer County sheriff's deputies apprehended her and a male companion after Holland allegedly robbed a Bank of the West in Auburn, Calif. on Monday, The Associated Press reported.

Witnesses told police the license plate of the getaway car allegedly driven by Holland's alleged accomplice Christopher Alonzo, 26, and cops caught up with the pair about 12 miles away, The News Tribune said.

In each of the robberies that the FBI says Holland carried out, she allegedly waited in line disguised in a variety of bad hairpieces before slipping a note to the teller demanding money and warning that she's armed, The Seattle Times said.

Most of the stickups attributed to the Bad Hair Bandit took place in the Puget Sound area of Washington, The Seattle Times said.

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