BURBANK : 2 Held in Holdup of Credit Union

Two men were arrested on suspicion of robbery after a Burbank credit union was held up and police were led on a two-freeway pursuit at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h., the Burbank Police Department said Tuesday.

Robert Duane Smith, 24, of San Bernardino and Benjamin Velasquez, 30, of Glendale were held without bail in connection with the 2:35 p.m. robbery Monday at the Burbank Federal Credit Union, 1715 Magnolia Blvd., Sgt. Mike Keeffe said.

One man entered the bank, pulled a gun and stole an estimated $70,000 from the vault, Keeffe said. Nobody was injured during the robbery.

Two men fled in a car, which was seen later by a detective in an unmarked car at the Golden State Freeway and Buena Vista Street. The detective followed the car north on the freeway, but the car sped up near Glenoaks Boulevard, Keeffe said. The car left the northbound freeway and re-entered in the southbound lanes.

Patrol cars joined the pursuit and chased the car along the Golden State Freeway to the Ventura Freeway in Glendale and onto surface streets, where the car blew a tire, Keeffe said. In the 2900 block of Chevy Chase Drive, the vehicle crashed into a guardrail.

Smith sustained minor injuries and was taken into custody, Keeffe said. Velasquez was taken into custody as he ran down an embankment toward the Chevy Chase Country Club.

A gun believed to have been used in the robbery and money from the bank were recovered from the embankment, Keeffe said.