× ‘Keep Smiling,’ Orange County Bank Robber Tells Victims: FBI 
 
 Orange County detectives and the FBI on Tuesday asked for the public’s help identifying a bank robber who told his victims to “keep smiling” as he robbed a Costa Mesa Citibank last week. 
 
 The so-called “Keep Smiling Bandit” earned his nicknamed during the Oct. 12 robbery at 234 E. 17th St. in Costa Mesa, and he was believed to have robbed a Tustin Citibank at 18232 Irvine Blvd. on Saturday. 
 
 A joint FBI-Orange County Sheriff’s Department Bank Robbery Apprehension Team asked for help identifying the man, described as white, in his early 30s, 5 foot 7 inches to 5 foot 9 inches tall, and weighing 140 to 150 pounds. 
 
 During both robberies, the “Keep Smiling Bandit” passed notes to a teller and verbally demanded cash, a news release distributed by the FBI stated. He wore eyeglasses and a baseball cap and was described as “nervous.” 
 
 No weapon was seen in the two robberies, but the robber’s note read, “Keep your hands away from the alarm or I’ll shoot.” 
 
 Anyone with information on the “Keep Smiling Bandit” was asked to call 911 or, in the Los Angeles area, call the FBI at 310 477-6565. ||||| Just keep smiling, the bank robber told his victims Saturday as he hit a Tustin bank. Those are words he uttered in the past too, the FBI said. 
 
 But the note the man dubbed the “Keep Smiling Bandit” passed to a teller at the Citibank branch in the 18200 block of Irvine Boulevard was cheerless, menacing and easily understood. 
 
 “Keep your hands away from the alarm or I’ll shoot,” the note read. 
 
 The bandit seemed nervous during the robbery but a weapon was never seen, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. 
 
 He may also be linked to a robbery that occurred just days before at another Citibank in Costa Mesa. In both robberies, authorities say he wore a baseball cap and glasses. 
 
 Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at (310) 477-6565. 
 
 For breaking news throughout California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA. She can be reached at veronica.rocha@latimes.com. ||||| (credit: CBS) 
 
 LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A team of robbers has hit nearly two dozen banks in the Los Angeles area since November, and police need help to catch them. 
 
 Alhambra police are working with the LAPD, Los Angeles County sheriff’s department and the FBI to capture a trio of bank robbers they have dubbed the “Cold Hands Bandits” for their habit of walking in with one hand in their pockets. 
 
 “In recent robberies, the suspects have become increasingly brazen and have jumped over the teller’s counter,” police said in a statement. “Law enforcement is greatly concerned that the level of aggression the suspects are displaying is increasing as the bank robberies continue.” 
 
 The trio has robbed 23 banks since November. 
 
 The robbers were all described as black men between 25 and 30 years old. Two of them are between 5-foot7 and 5-foot-9 and 170 to 190 pounds. The third suspect is between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-7 and 140 to 160 pounds. They are all considered to be armed and dangerous. 
 
 Anyone with information can call the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 486-6890. 
 
 (©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
– His words may seem cheerful, but his actions have been anything but. A California bank robber now called the "Keep Smiling Bandit" is being sought in two Orange County robberies in which he verbally instructed the likely terrified tellers to keep grins on their faces as they handed the cash over to him, the Los Angeles Times reports. In both instances—one at a Citibank in Tustin on Saturday, the other at a Citibank in Costa Mesa on Oct. 12—the thief passed a note to the teller that said, "Keep your hands away from the alarm or I'll shoot," KTLA reports. No weapon was spotted in either case, an FBI spokeswoman tells the Times; the robber, who can be seen wearing a baseball cap and eyeglasses in both surveillance videos, was described as appearing "nervous," KTTV reports. He's said to be a white man in his early 30s, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing around 150 pounds with a "thin build." Anyone with info should call 911 or the FBI's LA office at 310-477-6565. (A 55-year-old man was accused last year of stealing 37 bank rugs.)