Man Tries to Rob Same Calif. Bank 5 Times

Stephen Holloday has a familiar face — at least to tellers at one downtown Oakland bank. Police say he robbed the same bank four times between March 9 and May 23, but on his fifth attempt this month, a teller recognized him and alerted another co-worker who had been robbed previously by Holloday.

The two confronted the man, who panicked and fled, Oakland police Sgt. George Phillips. He was arrested a short time later on a street not far from the Summit Bank, the evidence — a demand note — still in his pocket.

"He was a creature of habit," Phillips said. "He had a penchant for doing the same bank over and over."

Holloday also is a suspect in at least seven San Francisco bank robberies, including one branch he allegedly hit five times, authorities said.