Bank Robbery Suspect Caught After Police Chase
A robbery suspect in body armor was arrested Thursday after he held up an Arcadia bank and fled to nearby Duarte, where he was captured after a brief police pursuit, authorities said.
Police were searching an industrial area south of Duarte Road late Thursday for a possible second suspect, who may have driven a getaway car that was found abandoned.
The robbery occurred about 10:45 a.m. when a gunman entered the California State Bank on East Huntington Drive, said FBI spokesman John Hoos.
Witnesses told authorities that the robber, who wore a black mask and sweater and appeared heavily padded, fired several rounds. He jumped the counter, grabbed a female teller by the hair and demanded money, witnesses told police. The gunman then yelled, “Everyone face down--nobody move or I’ll shoot!” Hoos said. After taking money from a second teller, the robber left through a rear door and sped off in a white four-door Chevrolet, authorities said.
The robber got out of the car and tried to go over a wall topped with barbed wire, said Police Capt. Rick Sandona. “As he jumped the wall, a piece of body armor--a [bulletproof] vest--fell to the ground with a large sum of cash,” Sandona said.
The man’s identity was not released.
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