Hobo bandit nabbed

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A bank robbery suspect whose "Hobo Bandit" appearance inspired a bank teller to paint his portrait has been arrested, police said.

Kirby Dean Guyette, 52, suspected of robbing two banks in recent weeks, was taken into custody Thursday by officers looking for a green van that witnesses described as the getaway vehicle, police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez said Friday.

The alleged getaway driver, 52-year-old Jack Paine, was also arrested, Gonzalez said.

Both men were being held on $50,000 bail. It wasn't clear whether either had been assigned a defense attorney.

Authorities allege Guyette walked into a Washington Mutual branch on Monday and slipped a teller a note demanding money and warning that he was carrying a gun.

That night, teller Nick Wildermuth painted a portrait of the robber from memory. Authorities said the painting depicting a middle-aged man with bushy eyebrows and a salt-and-pepper goatee shared similarities with surveillance video of the robber.

The suspect's unkempt appearance earned him the moniker the "Hobo Bandit."

Guyette, a transient, also matched the description of a man who robbed a Bank of America branch in Santa Ana on Jan. 21, then attempted to rob the same branch several days later, police said.

"The teller recognized him and said, `You're not getting anything from us,'" Gonzalez said. "The suspect appeared confused, turned around, walked out and got in the same green van."