LA CRESCENTA : Bank Employees Arrive, Find Bandits Waiting

Two gunmen tagged the “hole-in-the-wall bandits” forced a branch manager to open the bank vault, which they looted before escaping early Tuesday, authorities said.

It was the fourth heist for the robbers, who have targeted only Security Pacific National Bank branches in the San Fernando Valley. The two gunmen, wearing jeans, dark jackets and ski masks, were waiting inside about 8:35 a.m. when employees opened the branch at 2963 Foothill Blvd. in the La Crescenta area, FBI spokesman John Hoos said.

The suspects looted the vault and then fled with an undetermined amount of cash.

Detectives have tagged the gunmen the “hole-in-the-wall bandits” because they have gone through roofs and walls to get into the bank before employees arrive. Investigators had not determined how the gunmen managed to enter the La Crescenta bank Tuesday morning.