Brazen robbery crew hits 24 banks in L.A. region
A trio of robbers have hit at least two dozen banks throughout Los Angeles County in the last six months and are becoming increasingly brazen, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The three have targeted banks from Long Beach to Pasadena and most recently barged into a bank branch in Artesia on April 28, according to detectives with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division.
The three men sometimes shield their faces with caps as they enter the bank. Initially, they would pass a note to a teller, demand money and threaten violence while claiming to be armed, investigators said. Recently, they have taken to jumping over the teller’s counter.
Surveillance footage from the Artesia robbery shows one of the suspects cleaning money out of a teller’s drawer while another stands at the counter holding what appears to be a handgun. A bank employee can be seen lying on the floor.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
The three are described as black and about 25 to 30 years old, according to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. Two of them are between 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 170 to 190 pounds. The third man is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 140 to 160 pounds.
“In recent robberies, the suspects have become increasingly brazen and have jumped over the teller’s counter.”
— LAPD
The robberies began in Rosemead last Nov. 17 with the Pacific Alliance Bank on East Valley Boulevard. In the weeks that followed, the suspects began hitting locations in Southeast L.A. County and then parts of the San Fernando Valley.
Join the conversation on Facebook >>
Investigators from the LAPD, the L.A. Sheriff’s Department, Long Beach, Pasadena and Alhambra are all working on the robberies. Many of the crimes have been captured on high-quality video cameras inside the bank branches, and investigators hope someone will recognize the men.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call LAPD Det. Chuck Geiger at 213-486-6890, Sheriff’s Det. Mike Coleman 562-533-3271 or the FBI at 310-477-6565. After-hours calls may be made to the LAPD at 877-527-3247.
ALSO
A battered Seal Beach icon burns — yet again
L.A. City Council president gets restraining order against man accused of racist threat
Fire breaks out at world’s largest solar power plant near Nevada border
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
