Man Fatally Shot, Robbed as He Leaves Bank in Tustin : Crime: The victim withdraws up to $20,000 in cash for his family’s market but is ambushed outside. Police warn merchants to vary their routines when carrying cash.

A young man who had just withdrawn as much as $20,000 for his family’s business was fatally shot in the forehead and robbed Friday morning in what police described as a possible ambush.

Armando Miller, 26, of Orange died 2 1/2 hours after he was shot outside a Sunwest Bank branch near 1st Street and Newport Boulevard. He was pronounced dead at nearby Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

Minutes before he was shot, Miller had withdrawn $14,000 to $20,000 for Alameda Market, a liquor store and check-cashing operation his family owns in the El Modena neighborhood of eastern Orange.

“He was known by everyone in the general area; he was very popular, and he always helped customers,” said Robert Miller Jr., 23. “For me, as his brother, it’s so tragic. He was so full of life and information. It hurts everywhere.”

The robber, described by witnesses as a white man in his middle 30s with a dark-colored watchman’s cap and a military-type fatigue jacket, remained at large Friday night. Police were working on a composite drawing of the suspect based on witness descriptions.

“We suspect it was premeditated, that it was an ambush situation,” Lt. Houston Williams said, “based upon his routine--that he or his father withdrew $14,000 to $20,000 cash every Friday morning.”

Miller worked full time for his father at the market. As he did almost every Friday morning, Miller went to the bank, stepped into the merchant line and withdrew thousands of dollars for the market’s operation. He always carried the cash in a moneybag.

Police said Miller left the Sunwest branch about 10:45 a.m. Friday and was confronted by the assailant in a drive-through banking lane, near his parked silver van. It was not clear whether the men struggled before the gunman pointed a small-caliber weapon at Miller and fired once.

Williams said no one saw the shooting, but a teller in the drive-through window and someone in an office building overlooking the parking lot told police that the killer grabbed the red-and-white checked moneybag from the victim and ran west through a commercial complex next door.

Police have not found the murder weapon, which witnesses described, based on its sound, as a .22-caliber or .25-caliber pistol. A dozen dayworkers waiting beside the bank for their paychecks to be delivered told police that they heard the shot.

“I wish merchants who make large deposits or withdrawals wouldn’t do this or would vary their routines, because they never know who’s watching,” Williams said. “I’m almost certain if he didn’t know the victim, he knew the (banking) pattern.”

For several hours after the attack, officers searched for the suspect, combing through neighboring residential areas as well as Laundromats, bars and other busy storefronts lining 1st Street near Newport Avenue.

Some customers were rattled by the shooting, gathering along the roped-off parking lot, where police and firefighters searched for evidence.

George Berube, a chef at Godfather’s I across the street from the bank, said: “Two plainclothes cops came into the bar, flashed badges at the bartender and asked if she saw a transient-looking guy with a blue baseball cap come into the place.”

Miller’s family described him as a gregarious, athletic young man who loved to chat with customers and take care of his infant daughter. His mother, America Miller, said her son filled his free time with skiing, surfing and motorcycle riding.

“He planned many things, had a lot of goals,” said Robert Miller, who added that his brother was building a Laundromat. “We’re still going to finish it.”

Miller is survived by his parents, a 2-month-old daughter, two younger sisters and two younger brothers. Plans for funeral services are pending.