Gunmen Take $40,000 From Credit Union

Four men wearing ski masks robbed a credit union at gunpoint Wednesday and escaped with about $40,000 in cash, police said.

The men reportedly entered Telephone Employees Credit Union, 750 S. City Drive, justbefore noon. They jumped over the counter, took over all offices at gunpoint and ordered10 employees to lie on the floor, Police Lt. Timm Browne said.

“While the employees were on the ground, the men searched all tills and back offices for cash,” Browne said.

Police said the four men drove up to the building in a 1988 green Oldsmobile and parked the car in a handicapped parking stall. Following the robbery, they drove off in the car, which had been reported stolen by the Los Angeles Police Department, and abandoned it about two blocks away.

“This is a group that had put some planning into their getaway,” Browne said. “They left the Oldsmobile running after they abandoned it and obviously had another car waiting there to drive away in.”

No shots were fired during the robbery and no employees were injured. Some employees hadbeen on the telephone when the incident began and were able to communicate to the parties they speaking to that they were being robbed.

The four gunmen remain at large.

Employees at the credit union refused to discuss the robbery except to say that the stolen money is insured.