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VENTURA : Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery

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An Oxnard man pleaded guilty Friday to charges of robbing a Ventura bank after his fingerprints were found on the robbery note left at the scene, authorities said.

During his arraignment in U. S. District Court in Los Angeles, Christopher Lannen Wholihan, 29, pleaded guilty to the July 22 robbery of Home Savings of America on South Victoria Avenue in Ventura, said Gary Auer, head of the FBI in Ventura County.

According to Auer, Ventura police found fingerprints on the note that was left at the teller window.

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Police ran the prints through the computerized California Identification System, which identified Wholihan, he said.

Wholihan was taken into custody July 23 on a charge of parole violation and later charged with the bank robbery.

“Catching a robber like this is very unusual because they usually take the note with them when they leave,” Auer said.

Wholihan, who had taken $649 from the bank, could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and receive a $5,000 fine when he is sentenced in December, Auer said.

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