PORT HUENEME : 2 Bank Robbery Suspects Arrested

Port Hueneme police, on a stakeout Wednesday of a Bank of America branch, captured two suspected bank robbers after a car chase ended in an Oxnard lemon orchard, authorities said.

Two Ventura brothers were arrested on suspicion of robbing the Bank of America branch at 755 W. Channel Islands Blvd., Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Fernando Estrella said.

Eddie Dale Speer, 32, and Danny Paul Speer, 33, are also suspects in a string of 10 other bank robberies, Estrella said.

The brothers were arrested after Port Hueneme police staked out banks in the city after a series of recent robberies, Estrella said. Port Hueneme Police Detective Chris Graham saw one of the men enter the bank branch shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, and believed the man fit the description of a suspect in another crime, Estrella said.

Graham pursued the man after he sped away in a waiting car. During the chase, Graham receive word that the bank had been robbed, Estrella said. Other officers, including members of the Oxnard Police Department, joined in the pursuit.

The chase ended near Victoria Avenue and Gonzales Road, where the Speer brothers halted their car and attempted to flee on foot, Estrella said.

Danny Speer was arrested after a brief chase, and Eddie Speer was later found hiding under a tree, Estrella said. The stolen money was recovered, he said.

The brothers were transported to Ventura County Jail, where they were being held without bail on a federal warrant.

In a related incident, a Ventura branch of the Bank of A. Levy was robbed at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday by a lone robber, authorities said Wednesday. The robber displayed a demand note to a teller at the Harbor Boulevard branch and threatened to kill her if she did not hurry, Ventura Police Sgt. Doug Auldridge said.