The State - News from Oct. 31, 1988

FBI agents in Sacramento have arrested a North Carolina fugitive they believe is the so-called “gentleman bandit” who robbed 38 banks in four states. Robert Hal Brame, 34, was arrested after eight agents wrestled the armed man to the ground outside his girlfriend’s apartment, the FBI said. Terry Knowles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento office, said Brame had told his girlfriend that he would never be taken alive. He escaped two years ago from the Durham Penitentiary in North Carolina, where he was serving an 18-year sentence for kidnaping, attempted murder and assault on a law enforcement officer. Knowles said Brame was arrested on suspicion of robbing seven banks in Florida, Arkansas and California. In all, he has been identified as a suspect in 38 robberies in those states and Georgia, Knowles said.