Man Suspected in 6 Bank Robberies Strikes in Ventura

A man thought to be responsible for half a dozen recent bank robberies struck again in Ventura on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The latest robbery occurred about 5 p.m. at the Wells Fargo branch at 270 S. Mills Road when a 30-year-old Latino man handed a teller a demand note on a 3-by-5-inch card.

The man then verbally threatened the teller’s life, but did not show a weapon, said Gary Auer, Ventura FBI supervising agent. After robbing that teller, the man demanded and received cash at a second teller’s window before fleeing out the bank’s rear door into the parking lot.

With a police helicopter clattering overhead, Ventura peace officers converged on the scene, scouring neighboring office buildings with weapons drawn. However, they were unable to find the man responsible for the county’s 18th bank robbery of the year.

The suspect is described as 5-foot-7 and weighing 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He wore a white T-shirt with a dark checkered flannel shirt over it, baggy beige pants and a black fanny pack.

The bandit, who was still at large Thursday night, is believed to have committed six bank robberies in the last month in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, Auer said.

About 20 minutes after the robbery, police pulled over a two-tone Ford Escort at Thompson Boulevard and South Katherine Drive and arrested the driver, who they suspected was driving the getaway car. However, he was later released without being charged.

Police searched through clothes and numerous paper and plastic bags in the debris-filled vehicle, which had a sleeping bag in the front seat, but did not find any money.