Bail Is Denied for 3 Robbery Suspects

A federal magistrate denied bail Monday for three men accused of a robbery at a local Wells Fargo bank last week that left two suspects wounded by gunfire.

Ruling that they represented a flight risk and a danger to the community, Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato ordered that the three men be kept in custody.

The three were identified as Steven Lee, Milton Lavender and Jose Alfredo Rodriguez, all of Los Angeles County. Their ages were not revealed, but all appeared to be in their early 20s.

Authorities said the three were part of a gang of five who robbed the Wells Fargo branch in Buena Park of $13,525 last Thursday.

At the time of the robbery, the suspects had been under surveillance by the Los Angeles Police Department’s controversial Special Investigations Section, or SIS, which has been criticized for trailing suspects and watching them commit violent crimes before stepping in to arrest them.

SIS officers opened fire on the suspects, injuring Rodriguez and a fourth suspect identified in a court document as Charles Williams.

Williams reportedly is recovering from his wounds and was not present in court Monday.

The identity of the fifth suspect, a juvenile, has not been made public.

Monday, Assistant U. S. Atty. Susan Ficcadenti urged the magistrate in Santa Ana to order the men held without bail, saying they used a gun in carrying out the robbery and that they had violent criminal records.

Lavender has previously been convicted of numerous crimes, including robbery, theft, burglary, vandalism, carrying a loaded firearm in a public place and receiving stolen property, according to a check on his criminal record that was read in court Monday.