Bandits Described as Aged Take $36,500 From Bank

Two men, who were described as being in their 60s, robbed a Westminster bank of $36,500 Wednesday by brandishing pistols and, at one point, planting a phony bomb, according to Westminster police.

Investigators said no one was hurt in the robbery at Guardian Savings Bank in the Westminster Mall. The bandits, who were not observed leaving the bank, were each about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, of medium build, and wore white overalls and construction helmets, police said. One was carrying an orange tool chest and is believed to have gray hair.

Special Agent Fred Reagan of the Los Angeles FBI said the men entered the bank at about 12:45 p.m. and approached the teller counter. In what FBI agents call a “takeover job,” one of the men jumped over the counter. Waving a pistol and producing what appeared to be several sticks of dynamite from a box, he then demanded the keys to the bank vault while his partner covered bank employees with a pistol.

The first man ordered a woman teller to enter the vault and open the money drawer, Reagan said. After securing two bags thought to contain cash, the man rounded up three remaining employees, all women, and ordered them to lie on the floor of the vault.

The four women were the only people in the bank at the time, according to police.

After removing the money from the vault, the man left the vault door open just wide enough for the tellers to see the “bomb” resting outside. The man warned the women that if they left the vault, the bomb would explode, police said.

The bomb turned out to be a few highway flares taped together.

One of the tellers activated the emergency alarm inside the vault after the men left the bank. Police said they don’t know if the suspects escaped on foot or in a vehicle.