OXNARD : Cabdriver Arrested in Robbery Attempt

An Oxnard cabdriver has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob a bank after the branch manager spotted him leaving the bank parking lot and police picked him up at his next stop, authorities said Thursday.

Witnesses told police that the man entered the Bank of America on South A Street in Oxnard just before closing Wednesday. He approached a teller, pretended to have a weapon and demanded cash. But the teller told the suspect that she had already locked her cash drawer for the night, and the suspect left, Oxnard Sgt. Dan Christian said.

The branch manager, who was standing outside, saw the suspect leave the bank’s well-lit parking lot in a Yellow Cab with a white hood, police said.

After bank officials contacted police, Christian drove to the cab company’s offices, where an employee told him there was one cab with a white hood.

The employee also told Christian the same cabdriver would pick up his next fare on 5th Street in five minutes.

When police arrived at the designated spot, they saw a cab with a white hood pulling away.

Police arrested Jan Louis Withers, 44, of Thousand Oaks, without incident after the bank teller identified him as the suspect, Christian said.

“He didn’t make any statements to us, he just professed his innocence,” Christian said.

Withers was booked into County Jail, where he was being held Thursday in lieu of $50,000 bail. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Withers’ passengers, a woman and her daughter, waited in a patrol car until another cab arrived.