A 23-year-old Long Beach man is being held on $100,000 bail after police say he robbed a bank in the Bixby Knolls area and fled, then was linked by detectives to a second bank robbery four days earlier. Reginald Black Jr. was booked on suspicion of robbery and obstruction and had a tentative court date scheduled for Tuesday.
According to Long Beach Post, investigators say Black allegedly entered a bank in the 2200 block of East Carson Street, demanded money, and then fled the location. Long Beach Police Department robbery detectives later connected him to an earlier robbery at a bank in the 4500 block of Atlantic Avenue on July 23, four days before the Carson Street incident on July 27. Both blocks sit within major commercial corridors serving the Bixby Knolls and California Heights neighborhoods, according to Hoodline’s reporting on District 5.
What Police Have Not Disclosed
Long Beach police officers arrested Black following the July 27 robbery, and investigators said they arrested the 23-year-old man in connection with two bank robberies total. Police have not publicly disclosed the total dollar amount allegedly taken during either robbery, nor have they released the names of the specific bank branches involved, a detail Patch’s coverage of the case flagged as withheld from public release.
Black was held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles following his arrest. The facility, operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, serves as the county’s primary maximum-security detention and mental health evaluation center for male pretrial inmates, per the Helfend Law Group.
Case Now in Prosecutors' Hands
Long Beach police have presented the case against Black to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration. When local law enforcement presents a felony arrest case to that office, prosecutors evaluate the police findings to determine formal charges before arraignment, according to Eisner Gorin LLP, meaning prosecutors could file the charges as booked, request further investigation, or adjust them entirely. It remains an open question whether federal authorities will also pursue the case, since bank robbery is a federal crime under Title 18 U.S.C. § 2113, giving the FBI concurrent investigative jurisdiction alongside local police, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
Under California Penal Code Section 212.5, bank robbery is typically prosecuted as second-degree robbery, a felony punishable by two, three, or five years in state prison, according to the Shouse Law Group. A robbery conviction also counts as a serious felony and a strike under California’s Three Strikes law, which carries lifetime restrictions on firearm ownership and doubles prison sentences for any future felony conviction, per the Law Office of Zak Fisher.
How the Case Fits Into Local Crime Trends
The arrest comes as Long Beach Police Department citywide crime data shows reported robbery incidents in the city dropped 10.9% in 2025 compared to 2024, falling from 92 to 82 reported cases over equivalent tracking periods. That local dip mirrors a broader statewide trend: a 2025 study by the Public Policy Institute of California found robbery rates dropped 5.2% in 2024 across major urban jurisdictions, though statewide violent crime remained about 5.9% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
In December 2025, the Long Beach Police Department launched a public, interactive Crime Dashboard, replacing static PDF reports with block-by-block crime mapping and trend analysis, according to Inside LB News. The dashboard operates with a 21-day entry delay to allow department analysts to verify data before it goes public.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Long Beach police detectives at 562-570-7464. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to LA Crimestoppers by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477) or visiting lacrimestoppers.org.
