FBI Suspects a Link to Ring in ‘In-Store’ Bank Robbery

A robber who held up an “in-store” bank Friday afternoon may be part of a bank robbery ring responsible for 30 similar heists in the area since April, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman.

The robbery occurred about 12:55 p.m. Friday, when a man carrying a plastic bag walked up to a Washington Mutual Bank counter inside the Vons supermarket at 24160 Lyons Ave. He slid a note to the teller demanding cash, investigators said.

“Give me the [expletive] money,” the robber said aloud, according to FBI spokesman John Hoos. “I have a gun. Give me all the money or I’ll [expletive] shoot you.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators say the man was probably bluffing about the gun, since the teller never saw a weapon. Still, she gave him an unspecified amount of money and he walked out the front door.

The robber was in his 20s, clean-shaven, weighed about 200 pounds and stood 6-foot-2, investigators said. He was black, wore sunglasses, a black baseball cap, and wore a short-sleeved shirt with dark-colored stripes and dark pants.

Hoos said Friday’s robbery may be connected to 30 other heists of in-store banks conducted by a ring of four individuals--one of whom is female.

“It is of great concern to us when we have a robbery inside a supermarket,” Hoos said. “We’re dealing with more customers than you normally would have in a normal banking institution. The fact that you have a lot of children in there is of great concern to law enforcement.”

In-store banking is a recent trend that has some security experts worried that grocery stores are too vulnerable to properly protect. Special Agent William Rehder, one of the FBI’s foremost bank robbery experts, has said it is too soon to judge whether in-store banks present an unacceptable risk.

Bank robberies have been on a steady decline in Southern California since 1992, even as the percentage of violent heists has increased.