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# Suspected bank robber killed by police in Vegas
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/suspected-bank-robber-killed-by-police-in-vegas/
- Published: 2003-01-17T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:20:14.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*‘Do Jo Bandit’ hit one bank in Santa Monica, 10 in county*

A man who attempted to rob Washington Mutual Bank on Wilshire Boulevard last fall was fatally shot by police in Las Vegas and is believed to be responsible for nearly a dozen bank robberies in Los Angeles and nine in Nevada.

Robert James Nusbaum, 34, was shot by Las Vegas Metro Police on Dec. 31 after he and another man allegedly robbed a Bank of America and opened fire on authorities when they were found hiding behind a nearby apartment complex, said Las Vegas Metro Sgt. Rick Barela.

Nusbaum, known by the FBI as the “Do Jo Bandit” because he wore a karate shirt similar to the ones worn in that type of karate practice, fired the first shot at officers when he was spotted in the getaway car, Barela said. Nusbaum struck one police officer in the leg. Two officers fired back and fatally shot Nusbaum. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 17, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011703.pdf?ref=smdp.com)