Local News in Brief : Countywide : Police Suspect 1 Man in 2 Bank Robberies

Two Orange County banks were robbed 17 minutes apart Wednesday and police suspect the same man pulled off both heists.

The first robbery occurred at 11 a.m. at Security Pacific National Bank at Culver and Walnut avenues in Irvine. Police said the suspect entered the bank, told a teller that he had a handgun and demanded money. He fled on foot with at least $2,000.

At 11:17 a.m., a man entered California Federal Savings in the 14200 block of Redhill Avenue in Tustin and indicated to a teller that he had a bomb in his briefcase, police said.

The robber then forced two tellers into a vault, returned to their teller stations and took an undetermined amount of cash before fleeing on foot, Tustin police said.

No injuries were reported in either incident, and in both cases other tellers were unaware that a robbery was in progress.

Based on statements by witnesses, police said one man is suspected of both robberies. The robber in both incidents was described as a light-skinned Latino man in his mid-20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a heavy build. He was wearing a full-length tan trench coat, a Panama hat, black trousers and prescription glasses.