4 Holdup Suspects Captured

Four men suspected of holding up a Wells Fargo bank branch Thursday morning were arrested after their getaway car broke down, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported.

The robbery occurred shortly after 9 a.m. when three men entered the bank at 3001 Rancho Vista Blvd. and ordered customers and employees to lie on the floor, said Lt. Art Valenzuela of the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Station.

“During the robbery, one of the suspects fired one round from his handgun into a door in an attempt to unlock it,” Valenzuela said.

The men took an undisclosed amount of cash, ran from the bank and got into a stolen Jeep Cherokee that was being driven by a fourth suspect, deputies said. They abandoned the Jeep a short distance away and got into another car, a Chevrolet Camaro, authorities said.

Valenzuela said several people saw the men in the speeding Camaro and called the sheriff’s station. Deputies caught up with the car on 60th Street West near Avenue N and began a chase, finally capturing the men after their car broke down.

Arrested on suspicion of armed robbery were James Johnson, 25, of Santa Clarita; Darrin Hale, 27, of Sylmar; Lashawn Miles, 27, of San Bernardino, and Timothy Exum, 25, of Sun Valley. They were being held on $50,000 bail each.

Valenzuela said deputies recovered the stolen money.