'Puffy Coat Bandit' Pleads Not Guilty to Bank Robbery Charges; Trial Set

A man suspected of being the "Puffy Coat Bandit'' responsible for holding up  last month and six other financial institutions in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.

Steven Dwayne Paulson, 46, was indicted last Wednesday on seven counts of bank robbery, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. He was arrested Jan. 10 in Upland, when a police detective stopped a motorist matching the description of the bank robbery suspect. He has remained in custody since then.

 On Monday, a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles set trial for March 20.

The puffy ski jacket the bandit wore in at least one robbery helped FBI agents come up with the moniker. In other holdups, he wore a plaid jacket and a baseball cap or a knit beanie, Eimiller said. Most of the time, the robber used a demand note and, in some crimes, he simulated having a weapon under his coat, Eimiller said.

He was indicted on bank robbery charges stemming from heists on:

-- Dec. 20 at a U.S. Bank branch in Chino;   

-- Dec. 22 at Premier Service Bank in Corona;   

-- Dec. 28 at Mission Oaks Bank in Lake Elsinore;   

-- Dec. 30 at ;   

-- Jan. 3 at ;   

-- Jan. 7 at the same U.S. Bank robbed in Chino on Dec. 20; and  

-- Jan. 9 at a Comerica Bank in Rancho Cucamonga.  

The bandit took approximately $6,320 from the robbery at Chase Bank in Cerritos, according to court documents. 

- City News Service contributed to this report.