3 Rob Credit Union; Hold Gun to Employee’s Head

Armed robbers burst into the MCA/Universal Studios credit union Tuesday morning, held a gun to an employee’s head and escaped with “a substantial” amount of cash, authorities said.

The robbery began about 8 a.m. when three men, two in ski masks and carrying guns, stormed into the Universal City Studio Credit Union in the 3900 block of Lankershim Boulevard, authorities said.

A gunman vaulted onto the counter and yelled, “Get down on the ground!” FBI spokesman John Hoos said.

The bandit then leapt from the counter and put his gun to a female clerk’s head, ordering her to give up all the cash, Hoos said.

The clerk obliged. “Any of the employees in there would have gladly done it,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Brad Welker said.

The robbers stuffed the cash into a box, then fled in a gray Chevy Astro van, authorities said. The van, stolen in Torrance six days earlier, was found abandoned five blocks from the credit union.

Officials say credit unions, like banks, need cash on hand for transactions and are also insured by the federal government. As in all bank robberies, the FBI is investigating.

The nondescript building housing the MCA/Universal credit union does not look like a bank, Welker said. But “there are any number of ways” someone could determine there were large amounts of cash inside, he said.

Welker said the credit union recently received a shipment of a large amount of currency. He said he does not recall it being robbed previously.

A spokeswoman for MCA/Universal Studios said she could not comment on the robbery because it was under investigation.

Welker said investigators are seeking witnesses and asked that anyone who saw part of the robbery call the Sheriff’s Department or the FBI.