Conn. Authorities: Male Model Should Be Extradited From Calif. To Face Bank Robbery Charges
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police have requested extradition of a male model who they say was arrested in California in connection with three robberies in Connecticut.
California resident David Byers, 34, was arrested early Wednesday in San Diego.
Byers is a male model and fitness fanatic who is typically photographed shirtless to show off his sculpted muscles and colorful tattoos, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, some call him the "beefcake bandit," because of his good looks and online persona.
But police say he is the suspect who held up the same Chase bank in Riverside two days in a row last week. He is also suspected of robbing a gas station in Cos Cob, according to police.
"He opened his shirt and said, 'Get me the money, I have a gun,'" one of the robbery victims, Jean Louis Lebreton, said.
Authorities nearly had Byers on Friday when police said he led them on a high speed chase on I-95, ditched the vehicle and then ran across three lanes of traffic, Adams reported.
He allegedly stole a Range Rover in Port Chester and eluded police again in Pennsylvania and Arizona.
"Leads developed by investigators, with the assistance of the FBI, indicated that Byers had fled to the San Diego, California area," Greenwich Police Lt. David Nemecek said. "An FBI and sheriff's task force conducted surveillance of Byers and arrested him without incident."
The photographer who took Byers' online photos said he's shocked.
"I never saw anything that would indicate he would do something like this. He's not a violent person, in my opinion," Michael Stokes said.
The photographer told CBS News 8 in San Diego that Byers claimed to have moved east with a girlfriend.
An arrest warrant issued for Byers in Connecticut charged him with first and third-degree robbery, second and sixth-degree larceny and reckless endangerment.
"We're in the process of conducting the extradition process and bringing him back to Greenwich," Gray said.
So far, the only warrants for Byers arrest are for the alleged crimes in Connecticut. It's expected multiple states from coast to coast will be filing charges as well, Young reported.
"Clearly this gentleman is a very prolific thief and he's a busy person," Gray added.
