10 Held in Vault in Day’s 1st of 5 Unrelated Valley Bank Robberies

Armed bandits herded about 10 patrons and employees into a Sherman Oaks bank vault Wednesday morning before escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash, Los Angeles police said.

It was the first of five apparently unrelated bank robberies to occur in the San Fernando Valley that day, Police Lt. Gabe Ornelas said.

But Ornelas said that figure is not a record in Los Angeles, long considered the bank robbery capital of the nation because of its numerous suburban bank branches and easy freeway access. Ten bank robberies occurred in Los Angeles on a single day in August, he said, while the Valley has had as many as seven or eight bank robberies in one day.

Los Angeles this year is expected to surpass a 1983 record of 750 bank robberies, Ornelas and FBI officials have said. As of Wednesday, 658 bank robberies had been reported in the city this year, Ornelas said.

In the Valley on Wednesday, there were no injuries and no arrests. Ornelas said the robberies did not appear to be related.

The first occurred about 9:30 a.m. at Coast Federal Bank, at 4464 Van Nuys Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, in what police call a “takeover” robbery because the armed thieves took control of the bank and its occupants instead of simply passing a note demanding money.

The two armed men who entered the Coast Federal branch obtained the attention of bank patrons and employees by firing a shot into either the ceiling or floor, and then they ushered everyone into the bank’s vault, Ornelas said.

In a second takeover robbery at 12:30 p.m., three armed thieves wearing ski masks entered Bank of America in Chatsworth, at 20699 Nordhoff St., and escaped with an undisclosed sum of money. Further details were not available, Ornelas said.

Three Security Pacific Bank branches were robbed by thieves with notes demanding money. The first occurred at 9:35 a.m. at a Woodland Hills branch, 23347 Mulholland Drive; the second at 10:22 a.m. at a North Hollywood branch, 12755 Sherman Way, and the third at 12:15 p.m. at the Chatsworth branch, 21001 Devonshire St., Ornelas said.