Bank, S&L; Holdups Continue Unabated; 13 in 26-Hour Span

Eight separate Orange County banks and savings and loan institutions were robbed Wednesday, bringing to 13 the number held up within a 26-hour period Tuesday and Wednesday, the FBI reported.

Investigators reported that one suspect, arrested Wednesday after a robbery in Newport Beach, may be responsible for two or three other robberies. Also, Frank Calley, a supervisor in the FBI’s Santa Ana office, said that two men were arrested while leaving a Tustin bank in an Allied Van Lines truck.

Calley said he had no explanation for the unusual rash of robberies.

A Short Week

“When we apprehend them, we’ll find out why they did it,” he said, adding jokingly: “Monday, they (the banks) were closed. It’s a four-day workweek for them.”

Between 11:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, robbers hit two institutions in Tustin, two in Fountain Valley, and one each in Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Anaheim, Calley said.

On Tuesday, robbers held up four banks and one savings and loan in Tustin, Irvine, El Toro, Fountain Valley and Laguna Hills between 12:59 p.m. and 3:25 p.m.

No shots were fired and no one was injured in any of the holdups. In the robberies Wednesday, more than $4,690 was taken, authorities said.

In Tustin, Calley said that “the police there are pooped out after three robberies.”

The run on banks was said to be unusual even for Southern California, which is considered the robbery capital of the world.

“We don’t keep those kinds of statistics, but I don’t ever recall having eight in one day” in Orange County, Calley said.

Police identified the Newport Beach robbery suspect as Emerson Allan Stitt, 20, of Santa Monica. Stitt was arrested shortly after 2 p.m. following a robbery at First Interstate Bank, 2750 W. Coast Highway. Trent Harris, a Newport Beach Police Department spokesman, said a silent robbery alarm was triggered at the bank at 1:58 p.m.

Questioned in Other Holdups

Officer Pete Panos spotted Stitt’s vehicle, a 1974 2-door gold Plymouth, at Jamboree Boulevard and East Coast Highway, where he was arrested without incident.

Stitt, who was taken to Newport Beach Jail, was being interviewed Wednesday “concerning the possibility that he may be responsible for several other robberies in the county,” Harris said, adding that more than $1,000 was taken in the robbery.

The other seven robberies in Orange County Wednesday were:

- In Tustin, two suspects were arrested in connection with a bank robbery that occurred at 11:56 a.m., police said. Arrested were Charles Rose, 33, address unknown, and David Barr, 42, of Lincoln, Ill. Police said the two, arrested without incident after a police officer spotted the getaway truck, are suspects in the robbery of a Wells Fargo branch at 14601 Redhill Ave. About $460 was taken in the robbery; all of the money was recovered.

- Two robberies occurred in Fountain Valley at two different Bank of America offices, but no arrests had been made by late Wednesday, a spokesman said. The first occurred at 11:29 a.m. at the bank at 17430 Brookhurst St., where $650 in cash was taken. The suspect is described as a white male, about 30, and 5 feet, 9 inches tall to just over 6 feet. He has a slim build, black wavy hairy, brown eyes and a mustache. He was wearing a denim jacket, white T-shirt, blue jeans, and possibly a blue baseball cap with a white decal on it.

- Also in Fountain Valley, at 12:57 p.m., a robbery attempt was made at the Bank of America at 16192 Harbor Blvd. No money was taken. The suspect was described as a white male, 5 feet, 11 inches to 6 feet tall, with straight dark brown hair. He has a medium build and was wearing a red-and-white baseball cap, blue denim jacket and blue jeans. Police said he fled in a tan or gold Duster Plymouth going northbound on Harbor Boulevard.

- In Laguna Hills, a robbery attempt was reported at First Interstate Bank, 24032 El Toro Road, at 12:10 p.m. No money was taken and no weapon was seen, but the suspect reportedly handed the bank teller a note. The suspect is described as a white male in his 20s with brown curly hair. He was wearing a blue baseball cap and a blue jacket.

- Also in Tustin, a robbery was reported at Constitution Federal Savings and Loan, 17601 17th St., at about 12:14 p.m. About $1,500 in cash was taken in the robbery, police said. While no weapon was seen, the suspect reportedly told the teller that he had one, Sgt. Paul Wright said. The suspect is described as a white male, about 30 years old, with brown hair and a mustache. He was wearing a brown ski jacket, tan pants and a green stocking cap.

- First Interstate Bank, 3029 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, about 1:15 p.m. Police said $1,090 was taken.

- Bank of America, 300 S. Harbor Blvd. Anaheim, about 2:30 p.m. No other details of the robbery were available Wednesday.