6th Bank Falls Victim to Holdup Spree

In the biggest robbery spree in Ventura County this year, a man who scrawls his demand notes on Manila envelopes hit his sixth bank Friday, authorities said. He is believed responsible for nearly one-third of the area’s robberies since January.

The man took an unknown amount of money from Santa Barbara Savings and Loan, 425 Arneill Road in Camarillo, about 10:15 a.m., said Lt. Kathy Kemp of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. He handed the teller a note that read: “I want your 20s and big bills, too. I have a gun and will shoot.” It was the suspect’s second bank robbery in as many days and his sixth since June, officials say.

On Thursday, authorities believe the same man robbed the Bank of A. Levy at 1830 Victoria Ave. in Oxnard.

In each robbery, the man produced a written note and indicated he had a weapon, but none of the tellers have seen one, said Gary Auer, a supervisor for the FBI’s Ventura Office.

The bank robber is described as white, about 5-foot-10 and weighing about 160 pounds. He is between 25 and 30 years old and has short, strawberry blond hair cut in a flattop or a grown-out butch style, Auer said.

Friday’s robbery marked the 20th in the county this year. Last year at this time, the FBI reported 36 robberies, with 76 for the entire year, Auer said.

Authorities believe the same man is responsible for robberies Aug. 3 at the World Savings and Loan Assn., 2704 E. Thompson Blvd. in Ventura; July 28 at First Nationwide Bank, 1055 S. Oxnard Blvd. in Oxnard; July 26 at Security Pacific National Bank, 9493 Telephone Road in Ventura; and June 21 at Wells Fargo Bank, 101 S. Chestnut Lane in Ventura, Auer said.

In 90% of Southern California robberies, the suspects are drug abusers, robbing banks to feed their addictions, Auer said.