Mystery Shrouds Robbery Suspect
A 62-year-old man shot by police as he allegedly held up an Irvine bank remained in critical condition Sunday.
Irvine police identified the suspect as James Clifford Ballentyne of Anaheim. Ballentyne was shot in the arm, both legs and his side as he allegedly threatened a policeman with a gun following a holdup Friday afternoon at a Crocker National Bank branch.
Ballentyne was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.
According to police, a man who looked to be in his 60s walked into the bank at 3:30 p.m. Friday and told Don Finer, the bank’s assistant vice president, that he was armed and wanted money. Bank employees gave him about $4,000. The robber, who carried a .45-caliber pistol, then ordered Finer to accompany him out of the bank, police said.
Irvine police who had surrounded the bank in the meantime ordered the robber to surrender. Instead, police said, he pulled his gun.
Delphia Ballentyne, the arrested man’s wife, said her husband had never been arrested and the alleged holdup was inexplicable. She said her husband had suffered a stroke in February.
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