A 54-year-old ex-con pleaded guilty Thursday to carrying out a takeover-style bank robbery in Anaheim — one day after he got out of state prison.

Eric Walter Gray, who has a lengthy criminal history, entered the plea in Los Angeles federal court to counts of bank robbery and forced accompaniment.

Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 15.

Police responded about 4:40 p.m. May 8, 2024, to a report of a bank robbery in progress at a BMO branch at 5401 E. La Palma Ave., between Imperial Highway and Lakeview Avenue, FBI Special Agent Trevor Twitchell wrote in an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint filed in the case.

Gray, an Orange County resident, loitered in the bank “for a long time,” and then told an employee he was waiting for a ride, Twitchell said.

After he returned from a bathr

See Full Page