Lesser Charges Filed in Withdrawal of $242 : Crime: A San Fernando woman, 66, faces misdemeanor counts of using a gun at the bank. Authorities say they could never prove it was robbery.

Saying they could never prove bank robbery, prosecutors Tuesday filed misdemeanor charges against a 66-year-old San Fernando woman accused of robbing a teller at gunpoint of $242, the amount of a Social Security check that she claims should have been automatically deposited into her account.

Leona Vanatta, who could not be reached for comment, posted $30,000 bail and was released Tuesday pending trial on charges of brandishing a weapon and carrying a concealed weapon. Those charges carry a maximum penalty of one year in jail, compared to 10 years in prison for armed robbery, the charge usually filed in a bank robbery.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Phil Halpin said misdemeanor charges were filed because the woman took only money that she believed was supposed to be in her account.

“You can’t steal what you in good faith believe is your own money,” Halpin said. “Legally speaking, that is insufficient for a bank robbery. There is no evidence of specific intent to permanently deprive the bank of its money.”

A spokesman for the Social Security Administration declined to comment on Vanatta’s case, but said checks to all of the 4.8 million California residents eligible for assistance were mailed or transferred last week.

Vanatta was arrested Friday morning after she allegedly pulled out a 9-millimeter handgun and demanded her Social Security money from a teller at the San Fernando branch of Trans World Bank. The teller had told her that the check had not yet been deposited, and informed her that she had no other funds to withdraw from the account.

The teller gave her $242, and the woman then calmly walked out of the bank. She climbed onto a bicycle. A bank employee followed her, and when she passed the San Fernando police station a few blocks away, the worker notified officers, who came out and arrested her. Officers found a loaded gun in a bag with money.

Vanatta, a single retired bookkeeper, told police that she just wanted what was hers, and that when she couldn’t get it, she became desperate. San Fernando Police Sgt. Robert Ordelheide said Vanatta told them that she needed the money to pay her rent for her small apartment on Brand Boulevard.

“This just made me stop and think about how we go about our day-to-day lives and we forget about people on fixed incomes living from paycheck to paycheck,” said Ordelheide.

Ted Bobrow, a spokesman for the American Assn. of Retired People in Washington, D.C., said Vanatta’s case is an extreme example of the desperate conditions of some senior adults living on fixed incomes.

“This might serve as an illustration of the problems of many seniors who do live on fixed incomes and are very dependent on their Social Security benefits,” Bobrow said. “Not to condone the alleged behavior, but people who are dependent on their benefit checks don’t have many options.”

Leslie Walker, a spokeswoman for Social Security Administration regional office in San Francisco, said that privacy laws prevent her from speaking specifically about Vanatta’s case. But Walker said she was familiar with Vanatta’s claim and insisted that everyone eligible for benefits received checks by mail or automatic deposit last week.

“There were no delays in the automatic deposit of any Social Security benefits for those eligible,” she said, declining to elaborate further.

Walker said police on Friday contacted officials in the San Fernando Social Security office after the 10:30 a.m. robbery, but at that time information on Vanatta was not available. Walker said police have not made any follow-up calls, and probably do not have the most current information on Vanatta.

In California, Social Security benefits are paid to 3.8 million people, with 956,800 also receiving supplemental benefits as of last year.

Most bank robbers are charged with felony armed robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The misdemeanor counts Vanatta faces carry a maximum sentence of one year in county jail and/or a $1,000 fine. The concealed weapon charge, however, requires a mandatory minimum three months sentence if convicted.

Bank robberies are normally investigated by the FBI and considered a federal crime.

FBI spokesman John Hoos said that because of the large number of bank robberies in the Los Angeles area, some holdups are left to be investigated by local law enforcement authorities.

Hoos said that if a large amount of money was not taken and no violence was involved, the case will usually be left in the hands of local police.