Guard Foils Getaway of Robbery Suspect

A suspected bank robber’s getaway was foiled in Ventura on Thursday afternoon when a department store security guard pulled the 63-year-old Saticoy man from behind the wheel of his pickup truck and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him, authorities said.

Ventura police and FBI agents are questioning Gerald Ortega Ortega about his role in the 2 p.m. armed robbery at Ventura County National Bank, 4730 Telephone Road.

Ortega allegedly approached a teller, showed a knife and said “Give me money,” said Gary Auer, supervising agent at the Ventura FBI office. After robbing a second teller, the gray-haired bandit left the bank and walked to a pickup parked across the street, officials said.

A bank employee followed him and told a customer that a robbery had occurred. While the customer used his cellular phone to call police, the bank employee saw the Mervyn’s security guard and informed him about the heist, Auer said.

The unidentified guard cut off the escape route by driving his vehicle behind Ortega’s parked truck, then pulled the 5-foot-7-inch man from the cab and put handcuffs on him until police arrived, Auer said.