3 in Chase ‘Cased’ Bank, FBI Says

Three bank robbery suspects, who led police on a chase Monday that ended in a death, had been staying in a hotel together for several days and had decided to rob a bank when they ran out of money, according to the FBI.

The three men, one of whom was killed by police after allegedly pointing a gun at officers, are suspected of robbing a Bank of America of more than $2,500. They “cased” the bank on Harbor Boulevard in Fountain Valley the day before, a complaint filed by the FBI on Tuesday stated.

One of the suspects, Jonathon Germaine Brown, 21, of Santa Ana, told the FBI that the man shot by police, Dwight Paul Chandler, 22, suggested that they rob the bank.

Brown also said that Chandler and a third man, Carlos Garcia Garcia, 22, of Santa Ana, had stolen a car earlier that day to use in the robbery, the FBI said.

After the robbery, the suspects switched cars but were traced moments later via an electronic tracking device that was concealed with the money, authorities said.

The suspects were chased by police units from several agencies from Haster Street in Garden Grove onto the Santa Ana Freeway. They crashed after turning off the freeway at State College Boulevard.