3 Banks, Motel, Bar, Home Robbed--All in a Day in County

With just 17 shopping days left before Christmas, robbers held up three banks, a motel, a bar and a private home Monday in a spree of apparently unconnected incidents across Orange County that police said may be holiday-related.

“Traditionally, there is an upswing in robberies and related crime at the holiday time,” said Lt. Ken Whitman of the Garden Grove Police Department, which was investigating two of the bank holdups. “Maybe it’s because the criminals feel there’s more money in circulation.”

No suspects were in jail in any of the six robberies, and no injuries were reported, authorities said. Pistols were brandished in all but two of the cases.

The third bank robbery occurred in El Toro. The Comfort Inn in Stanton also was robbed, as was the Boardwalk tavern in Westminster. In Santa Ana, the six occupants of a private residence were robbed of $10,000 in valuables.

In Garden Grove, the first bank holdup was at the First Interstate branch in the 9900 block of Chapman Avenue, where a man in his late 20s, wearing a blue shirt and hat, entered the establishment at 11:04 a.m. and handed a teller a note demanding money, Whitman said. The man, who did not display a weapon, ran out the front door after taking an undetermined amount of cash and fled west on Chapman.

At 11:23 a.m., a man about 30 entered the First Interstate branch in the 12500 block of Valley View Street, drew a pistol and demanded money from a teller, Whitman said. After taking an undetermined amount, the bandit fled.

At 2:05 p.m. in El Toro, a man in his late 20s entered the Bank of America branch in the 23800 block of El Toro Road and demanded money, Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson said. The suspect fled after taking an undetermined amount of money. Olson said the man did not display a weapon. It was unknown whether the robber handed the teller a note.

FBI agents were called in to help investigate the bank robberies, which have been occurring at an almost daily clip in recent weeks. The county has logged about 330 bank holdups this year, compared to less than 300 at the same time last year, according to Wylie Cox, FBI supervising agent in Santa Ana.

In Westminster, the manager of the Boardwalk tavern in the 6700 block of Westminster Boulevard was robbed at gunpoint at 7:15 a.m. as he departed with the weekend receipts, Westminster Police Sgt. Larry Russell said. The manager was approached by two gun-wielding men who ordered him to hand over about $2,000 in cash receipts, Russell said.

In Stanton, the Comfort Inn in the 11600 block of Beach Boulevard reportedly was robbed Monday, Orange County communications dispatchers said. However, Stanton police did not return repeated calls Monday to provide any details of the crime.

And in Santa Ana at 8 a.m., two gunmen burst into an unlocked home in the 1200 block of Pine Street and ran sacked the house, after handcuffing one man and tying up the four others, Santa Ana Police Lt. Bob Chavez said.

Juan Valdovinas, 21, who was handcuffed, also was hit over the head with a pistol when he struggled with one of the suspects, Chavez said. He suffered minor injuries but required no treatment.

The other two men and two women in the residence had their hands and feet tied with duct tape as the suspects ransacked the home, taking an estimated $10,000 in gold jewelry, cash and miscellaneous valuables, police said. After the suspects left, the five adults were freed by an 11-year-old boy who had hidden behind a sofa during the robbery, Chavez said.