FBI Honors 2 Who Aided in Capture of Bank Robber

GARDEN GROVE — The first time he played good Samaritan, Eric Adams got a gun waved in his face. He promptly made a silent oath to never again get involved.

But the 34-year-old Garden Grove man was honored Tuesday for breaking that promise and inserting himself into danger a second time to bring an armed fugitive to justice.

“I said I’d never do it again, but when the adrenaline kicks in, you just don’t think,” said Adams, owner of a pool cleaning service. “You just go.”

Adams and one of his employees, 18-year-old Ezekiel Coss, were honored at an FBI ceremony lauding their quick thinking and bravery, which led directly to the arrest of a serial bank robber.

On Aug. 23, Adams and Coss gave chase when they saw a bandit duck out of a Garden Grove Bank of America with, literally, an armful of cash.

Following the robber across town, they gathered information for a suspect and vehicle description that “made the difference,” FBI officials said.

The suspect, Robert Borton, 33, was arrested at an Arkansas motel in September. He had cash traced back to the robbery, two guns and some heroin, FBI agents said. He was also driving the pickup truck described by Adams and Coss.

Borton pleaded guilty to two robberies, including the Garden Grove one, and is scheduled for sentencing next week. He is suspected in two other bank robberies and has attempted two escapes since his capture--including a lunge for a deputy’s gun in an Arkansas courtroom, officials said.

Adams and Coss on Tuesday received framed certificates, FBI baseball caps and coffee mugs, and the praise of Timothy P. McNally, the FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles division.

“In our case, it’s a dedication to duty,” McNally said, turning toward the guests of honor. “But for you, it was just being a good citizen and doing the right thing.”

For Adams, it was the second time he found himself at a Bank of America during a robbery. About six years ago, he said, he chased two robbers who sprinted out of a Santa Fe Springs branch. In the parking lot, one of the bandits wheeled around and aimed a gun at his pursuer.

“He told me to ‘Get out of here,’ and I did,” Adams said. “I even hid for a while. It was wild. So when this second robbery started, I sort of had a flashback.”

The flashback began when Adams noticed an agitated man at the window of the merchant teller at the Bank of America at 12421 Valley View St. Adams said he followed the man as he fled the bank, hunched over with something in his arms, “like a fullback.”

Outside, Coss was waiting for Adams in a parked pickup truck. Coss said he noticed the suspect cradling “stacks of cash,” and after quickly conferring with Adams, the two took off in pursuit.

Coss wrote the license plate number down on his hand--which was later photographed as evidence by agents. The pursuers watched the suspect change his clothes while driving.

The suspect probably never knew he was followed, Adams said.

“We took a different route and caught up to him when he came out of the alley behind” the bank, Adams said. “I knew he’d probably be heading for the freeway. I knew from the last time how these guys work.”

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Eyewitness

Here are some tips on what to look for if you think you see a crime being committed:

THE SUSPECT

First take note of primary physical features (race, height, weight, sex, age) since these characteristics cannot be easily changed or disguised. Other physical traits:

* Facial hair

* Eye color or glasses

* Scars, marks or tattoos

* Hair, wig, cap or hat

* Voice, language, accent

* Any physical disabilities

* Right- or left-handed

* Color, type of clothing

THE VEHICLE

If possible, immediately write down the license plate state and number, along with a description of the car and its driver. Examples of what else the police will want to know:

* Color, make and model (white Ford Mustang)

* Type (truck, four-door sedan)

* Estimated year of manufacture

Source: Huntington Beach Police Department

Los Angeles Times