Suspect Arrested in Bank Robbery Spree

A marked bill has led to the arrest of an Oxnard man suspected of being one of Ventura County’s most prolific bank robbers.

Johnny Vildosola, 22, was being held at the Ventura County Jail without bail. He is a suspect in five bank robberies that occurred since Sept. 16, authorities said.

A marked bill from a Sept. 23 heist that a person not connected to the robberies tried to pass led investigators to the alleged bandit, said Gary Auer, supervising agent with the FBI’s Ventura bureau.

The bill was marked when a dye package exploded during the robbery, Auer said. “There will be marked bills, different types of markings, in connection with virtually all bank robberies.”

Vildosola is suspected of beginning his bank robbery spree Sept. 16 at an Oxnard branch of Santa Barbara Bank and Trust, 2385 N. Oxnard Blvd.

A week later, a bandit matching his description robbed a branch of Home Savings of America, 2671 N. Ventura Road.

Two Oxnard banks--Channel Islands National Bank, 300 Esplanade Drive, and Bank of America, 1855 N. Oxnard Blvd.--were robbed Oct. 15.

On Nov. 14, a Port Hueneme California Federal Bank branch, 739 W. Channel Island Blvd., was robbed.

“This year that’s a high number,” Auer said, adding that in previous years a single robber has been responsible for up to 15 heists. “He’s done as many as anybody in Ventura County this year.”

Vildosola faces a Dec. 10 preliminary hearing before a federal magistrate.

Detectives from the Oxnard and Port Hueneme police departments assisted the FBI in the investigation.