CAMARILLO : Bank Robbery May Be Latest in Series

The same robber is suspected of holding up his fifth Ventura County lending institution in just over a week and then fleeing on foot Friday from a Camarillo bank with an unknown amount of cash, authorities said.

First State Bank of the Oaks, 470 Arneill Road, reported a robbery about 12:30 p.m., said Gary Auer of the FBI’s Ventura division.

The FBI believes that the man also robbed two Port Hueneme banks last week, an Oxnard bank on Monday and a Ventura bank on Wednesday, Auer said.

Imperial Savings, 2671 N. Ventura Road, and Bank of America, 755 W. Channel Islands Blvd., both of Port Hueneme, reported robberies on Sept. 19 and Sept. 21, respectively, Auer said.

First Nationwide Bank, 1055 S. Oxnard Blvd. in Oxnard reported a robbery on Monday. And Bank of A. Levy, 2499 Harbor Blvd., Ventura, was robbed Wednesday, he said.

In each case, the man presented a note demanding money and claiming to have a weapon, Auer said, although no weapon was ever brandished.

Friday’s robbery was the 30th robbery of a bank or savings and loan since January, Auer said. Last year at this time, 56 such institutions had been robbed, authorities said.