Preliminary hearing set in Snowboard Bandit bank robbery suspect

A March 15 preliminary hearing date was set today for thealleged “snowboarder bandit,” who is suspected in three Coachella Valley bankrobberies.

Michael Brandon Franks, a 30-year-old Riverside resident, is chargedwith three counts each of robbery and burglary and one count of attemptedrobbery. Franks, who was on the FBI’s most wanted list in Southern California,has also been accused of robbing nine banks in Orange County.

The preliminary hearing will determine if there is enough evidence forFranks to proceed to trial.

The “snowboarder bandit” moniker stemmed from the suspect’s youthfulappearance and the knit hats and ski clothes he allegedly wore during theholdups.

Franks is accused of robbing a First California Bank branch in PalmDesert on May 4, a BBVA Compass branch in Palm Springs on April 20 and a Chasebank in Rancho Mirage on April 11 — all in 2012.

Franks was previously arrested on May 4 last year, but only on chargesof robbing banks in Orange County. He was out on bail when he was arrestedagain later that month.

Franks was charged in Orange County with 10 counts of robbery and twocounts of attempted robbery in connection with 10 holdups at nine banks. Therobberies netted about $30,000 from Dec. 20, 2011, through March 21 of lastyear, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union branch in Anaheim was hit twice, according toprosecutors.

Franks was also suspected of robbing a bank in Ventura County, accordingto the FBI.

FBI Special Agent Chris Gicking said a surveillance camera photo from aholdup in Palm Springs was especially helpful in identifying the suspect, whohad ditched the ski hat in favor of a large motorcycle helmet in several recentholdups.

In the Palm Springs robbery, the suspect donned a baseball cap withoutsunglasses, as he had in past robberies, Gicking said.

Franks is free on a $500,000 bond.