Escapee Held by Bystanders After Bank Holdup

A three-strikes defendant who escaped from the Santa Monica Courthouse more than a week ago was back in custody after civilians captured the suspect as he fled from a Hollywood bank that he allegedly tried to rob, authorities confirmed Sunday.

George Lawrence Allen, 49, was cornered Friday by three citizens, including an off-duty police officer, after he attempted to rob the Bank of Hollywood, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Paul Anderson.

According to news reports, Mike Korach, an off-duty police officer from Akron, Ohio, and his wife, Cindy, were shopping for souvenirs at a Hollywood Boulevard shop when someone asked him to help stop a would-be robber. Korach and two others confronted Allen, who jumped into a parked taxi, where he was held until police arrived.

Allen was arrested on charges of attempted robbery, authorities confirmed.

Allen escaped Aug. 7 from a secured area of the Santa Monica Courthouse during a recess in his trial on multiple robbery charges. He managed to open a self-locking metal door and escape through an adjacent empty courtroom before running down a hallway filled with jurors in his own case and police officers waiting to testify in another case.

Allen has three felony robbery convictions and another for discharging a firearm, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which provides security at county courthouses.