3 Held in Connection With 4 Bank Robberies

Authorities have arrested three Oxnard residents, including a 16-year-old boy, suspected of taking part in four bank robberies, the latest at an Oxnard Bank of America branch on Christmas Eve.

The teenager and Randy Ceja were arrested on the street in the 1100 block of North G Street without incident Tuesday afternoon by Oxnard police shortly after the 3 p.m. heist, said Gary Auer, supervising agent of the Ventura FBI office.

Police had the pair under surveillance before the latest robbery at the Bank of America at 1855 N. Oxnard Blvd., Auer said. In the robbery, a lone bandit--later identified as the boy--handed a note to a teller indicating that he had a gun and demanding money. The robber then fled on foot. Police recovered the undisclosed amount of cash that was stolen, Auer said.

The third man was already in Ventura County Jail on unrelated charges, Auer said. Miguel Florencio Gomez, 24, of Oxnard has been jailed since Dec. 19 on charges that include six counts of being under the influence of a controlled substance, two counts of violating his probation and failure to appear in court.

Tuesday’s robbery--the 51st in the county this year--bore all the hallmarks of three earlier heists, Auer said.

Two men held up the Santa Barbara Bank and Trust branch at 2385 N. Oxnard Blvd. on Dec. 3 as well as a Port Hueneme Home Savings branch Dec. 10 at 2671 N. Ventura Road. Police almost captured the two robbers involved in the Port Hueneme robbery, but the pair eluded capture after detectives pursued one of them on foot through residential yards in a heavy downpour.

A single robber, believed to be one of the men involved in the first two robberies, also struck the California Federal Savings Bank on Saviers Road in Oxnard on Dec. 19.