Witness Provides New Lead on Robbers’ Getaway Vehicle

THOUSAND OAKS — Police have turned up new leads in their continuing hunt for the two men who robbed a Thousand Oaks bank and killed teller Monica Lynne Leech execution-style.

Shedding light on the license plate of the robbers’ getaway vehicle, a new witness has come forward, officers said Tuesday.

And more leads could arrive as the case receives national exposure next week on “America’s Most Wanted,” which reaches millions of television viewers.

“Not only will that add to the exposure of the case, but it will add more personality to Monica--that she was a wife and mother,” said said Sheriff’s Sgt. Rod Mendoza. “Maybe the people who know the people who are responsible for this, it’ll reach out to them more.”

The latest lead comes from a witness who reported seeing the suspects fleeing the Western Financial Bank on Thousand Oaks Boulevard in a white Chevy Blazer. He wrote the numbers “3TRB4” on his hand, and notified police, said Capt. Larry Robertson.

Previous witnesses described the vehicle as a white sports utility vehicle--possibly a Ford Explorer--with a license plate beginning “3T.” The license plates of some 1,000 vehicles begin that way. While the lead appears promising, deputies say they will attempt to track down all those cars and trucks.

“We’re not through [finding the vehicle] yet,” Robertson said. “I can’t say definitely that it’s the right license plate, and I can’t say that it isn’t. . . . But when the witness described the men as wearing yellow raincoats and hard hats, that certainly piqued our interest.”

The robbers were wearing yellow jackets and construction hats when they stormed the bank April 28, according to other witnesses.

Authorities said the armed men raided the cash drawer and corralled the four employees, handcuffing Leech and another worker. The employees were steered to a side room and forced to open the safe. Cash in hand, one of the robbers shot Leech in the back of the head.

Both men are described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and of medium build. One man is white or Latino and the other is dark-skinned or African American, authorities say.

FBI investigators and about a dozen sheriff’s investigators are working on the case, Mendoza said.

A $160,000 reward is being offered for tips that lead to an arrest. More than 200 leads originating from San Francisco to Orange County are being pursued, he said.