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Do-rag Bandit Sentenced

Anthony Brown, 44, known as the Do-rag Bandit, was sentenced to 423 years to life in prison today after being found guilty on 10 counts of armed robbery, one count of attempted murder, and 1 weapons violation, resulting from a 5-week crime spree in July 2009.

“This is stunning and gratifying to see this sentence for such a hardened, career criminal,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, who heads up the detective division downtown that arrested Brown in 2009. “We rarely get sentences like that even in murder cases.”

Brown represented himself in his trial. He was trained as a jail house lawyer in prison. “We were shocked to learn the state cut Brown a check for $20,000 in return for legal services he charged other prisoners,” Vernon explained. “They handed him the check the day he walked out on parole.”

Starting in July 2009, detectives noted a pattern of robberies by a man in braids and by a thinner man wearing a do-rag. Those two suspects turned out to be Brown. “When he left prison, he had braids and was heavier,” Vernon explained. “The more crack he smoked, the more weight he lost; I guess you can call that the ‘crack diet.’”

Recognizing his MO for robbery, detectives staked out locations and caught him going into a business holding the old revolver he used in his robberies. During one of those robberies, Brown fired at a victim, resulting in the attempted murder charge.

Brown had not been out of prison two weeks before he began his crime spree. Brown testified that he bought crack and smoked it the day he was released.

Among the businesses Brown robbed were: Riteaid, Pollo Loco, Denny’s restaurant, Citibank, Chase Bank, and the California Bear Credit Union.

For more information, see LAPD release, August 9, 2009, NR09387pv

Release written by Lt. Paul Vernon
Central Detective Division