Countywide : Bank Robber Is Sentenced to Prison
An Oxnard man has been sentenced to three years and nine months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to robbing a Ventura bank.
Terry George Luken, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing the Wells Fargo Bank at 101 S. Chestnut St. last June. Luken was arrested after three air-conditioning workers followed him from the bank and held him until Ventura police arrived.
Luken, who entered the guilty plea in August, also received an additional three years probation during his sentencing this week.
There have been 81 bank robberies in Ventura County this year, compared to 52 in all of 1991. Of the 81 robberies, 64 have been solved, said Gary Auer, head of Ventura County’s FBI office.
He attributes the rise in bank robberies to the increase in drug use.
“Virtually all are driven by narcotics,” Auer said. “These are people trying to pay for narcotics.”
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