Robber Flees Quietly After Teller Hands Over Cash

Authorities are searching for a man who held up a Bank of America branch Monday morning on Westlake Boulevard near the Ventura Freeway--the 22nd bank robbery in Ventura County this year.

The suspect--described as a well-built Latino in his mid-20s sporting a large, possibly fake, goatee--entered the B of A near Townsgate Road across from Jack’s Westlake Deli at about 11:30 a.m.

He told a teller that he had a handgun, and placed his hand inside his light-colored shirt to suggest the shape of a pistol, but never brandished a weapon, authorities said.

The teller gave him the money from her cash box, and the man quietly left. Most of the two dozen or so employees and customers inside the bank had no idea what had happened, according to Ventura County Sheriff’s Det. Ernie Montagna. No one was injured.

“The bank was open at the time, but just about everyone in there was oblivious to what was going on,” Montagna said. “Other than the tellers, anyway.”

Although no one from the bank noticed the suspect enter a car on his way out, other witnesses said they saw a man matching the suspect’s description enter a red Ford Mustang--possibly a 1967 or 1969 model--and leave with another Latino man. Sheriff’s deputies immediately put out an alert for the Mustang and searched the nearby minimalls, but their dragnet yielded nothing.

The suspect was described as about 25 years old with fair skin, black hair in a crew cut, about 5-foot-10 and weighing 190 pounds. He was wearing sunglasses and had a gold hoop in his left ear. He also had a large goatee, which authorities suspect was phony.

“The bank teller said he looked really clean cut,” said Senior Deputy Mike Christensen.

Located a block south of the Ventura Freeway, the Bank of America branch at 954 Westlake Blvd. was last robbed in February 1996.

But Agent Larry Dick of the FBI’s Ventura office said the site is not a high-incident location.

Monday’s bank robbery was the first in Thousand Oaks since the Home Savings of America branch on Thousand Oaks Boulevard was held up on Halloween day, he said.

“It was a very low-key robbery,” Dick said. “Not too many people saw the suspect. This guy has never robbed in Ventura County before, at least not matching this description.

“This is not [a bank branch] that is victimized any more than any other ones,” he added.

Bank employees declined to comment on the robbery, citing company policy.

“Everyone’s all right,” said one teller, who refused to give her name. “He was in and out. It happened really fast.”

Some customers reacted with shock Monday upon learning that their favorite bank branch in low-crime Thousand Oaks had been robbed.

“What?” said accountant William A. Becker, who dropped by the bank Monday to open a new account. “Don’t they know that’s against the CC&Rs; around here?”

Others were not surprised, however, pointing to the bank’s proximity to the freeway, which allows a quick getaway.

“What it tells this community is, you’re not safe anywhere,” said Ruth Chapman of Van Nuys, who often uses the branch on breaks from her job in Westlake Village. “It’s the freeway. They can just get off and on. It’s scary.”

Miguel Bustillo is a Times staff writer and Scott Steepleton is a correspondent.