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Family Is Held Hostage Before Bank Robbery : Crime: Coast Federal officer is forced to open safe after a night in captivity at home. Authorities note similarities to a June incident.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Five men carrying automatic weapons burst into a Canoga Park home and held a bank officer and four others hostage overnight before forcing her to drive to a Northridge bank and open the safe Friday morning, authorities said.

The FBI was investigating similarities between the incident and another on June 11, in which nine people were held overnight in the Canyon Country home of an officer of another bank, who was also forced to open a vault.

In both cases, the robbers threatened to harm the bank official or family members if the bank officer did not comply, authorities said. None of the hostages were harmed.

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“Nobody was hurt during the hostage situation, but they spent a traumatic evening,” FBI spokesman John L. Hoos said. “It was a well-planned operation.”

The FBI declined to identify the victims, but neighbors said the couple was James and Terri Duranso.

The five robbers, two of whom wore masks, invaded the home at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and took twin 9-month-old boys and a 16-year-old baby-sitter hostage, Hoos said.

Terri Duranso returned home about 5:30 p.m. from her job at Coast Federal Bank in Northridge and her husband arrived home a short time later.

As they entered, the parents were tied up with cloth and plastic bands, and they remained on the floor overnight, Hoos said. One of the men wore a black mask over his face and another wore a clear plastic mask.

Hoos said the hostages were treated well.

Friday morning, two of the men--dressed in business suits--drove Terri Duranso to the bank at Devonshire Street and Reseda Boulevard, where they forced her to open the vault about 8 a.m. under threats to her life.

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At some point during the robbery, another bank employee arrived and was also taken hostage. Duranso opened the bank vault and the robbers fled with an undisclosed amount of cash in her Ford Tempo, which was recovered in a nearby neighborhood.

Duranso and the other employee freed themselves and contacted authorities. The three men who remained at Duranso’s home during the robbery had fled by the time police arrived.

Residents of the quiet upper-middle-class neighborhood were shocked and shaken Friday.

“I was appalled,” said Joan Tatusko, a neighbor. “Over here nothing happens. It’s quiet dead-end streets.”

Neighbor Dawn DeBroux said: “It’s frightening. This was happening all day long and our kids were out playing on the streets.”

After Friday’s robbery, Patrick Roach, director of security for Coast Federal Bank, said the bank planned to provide counseling for employees. It was the first time a Coast Federal employee had been taken hostage at home by robbers, Roach said.

Although the way the robbery played itself out was uncommon, the fact that a robbery occurred was not, Hoos said.

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So far this year, 2,042 bank robberies have been committed throughout Southern California, down 28% from the same period last year, Hoos said. Of those, 293 involved takeovers, up 26% from last year.

Hoos attributed the region’s high robbery rate to several factors, including a concentrated branch banking system--consisting of 3,500 banks in a 40,000-square-mile area--and a freeway system that provides easy getaways. Drug and gang problems exacerbate the situation.

As many as 80% of the robberies are drug-related, as users commit crimes to pay for their habits, Hoos said. Most of the takeover robberies are committed by gang members, who have access to weapons, according to Hoos.

“All these reasons add up to why we’re called the bank robbery capital of the world,” Hoos said.

With the second such case in the region since June, authorities were investigating potential links.

Hoos pointed to the similar mode of operation. “We’re going to check to see if it could be related.”

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In the June incident, the family of bank officer Toula Demosthenous was targeted as part of a robbery of TransWorld Bank in Canyon Country.

Demosthenous and eight other people--including five children--were taken hostage by five men, four of whom wore masks. Three men armed with semiautomatic handguns lay in wait at Demosthenous’ home and took her daughter, Nikki, and her friends hostage when they arrived for lunch.

Toula Demosthenous was taken hostage when she came home later in the evening, and her assailants used string and handcuffs to bind their victims. Two other gunmen subsequently arrived at the home.

The next morning, three of the men drove Demosthenous to the bank in her car and forced her to open the vault. Two tellers were also taken hostage.

Two years ago in Palmdale, two gunmen held the assistant manager of Southern California Savings in Newhall and her husband captive for 36 hours. The attempt was foiled when a silent alarm went off in the bank.

Neighbors of the Northridge bank were also shocked.

“What did happen was a bad scene,” said Harold Caplan, owner of the nearby Harold’s Delicatessen. “Robbers have been picking this neighborhood down pretty good.”

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“It’s too bad for us,” said Arthur Kalpakian, owner of Pioneer Shoe Repair. “The business is slowing here. . . . People are afraid to come into the area.”

Staff writer Timothy Williams contributed to this story.

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