Few Clues Landed in Case of Missing Eagles

As they might say at NASA, the eagle has not yet landed in the case of the missing birds.

State and federal cops are looking at an Oxnard man in the disappearance of three eagles from the Santa Barbara Zoo and for possessing eagle feathers, says Santa Barbara Police Lt. Nick Katzenstein.

The man, a 39-year-old parolee who says he is a Chumash Indian, has not been charged with a crime. But he is the only suspect in the thefts, which occurred March 31 or April 1, Katzenstein said.

The cops have no solid evidence but suspect him because he was working at the zoo two days before the eagles disappeared and showed an unusual interest in the birds, Katzenstein said.

Shell casings and blood at the scene have led the cops to believe the eagles were shot in their cage. An eagle, dead or alive, can fetch up to $10,000 on the black market, the lieutenant said.

Santa Barbara cops are working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials to solve the crime, the lieutenant said.

As to the eagle feathers, which state parole agents said they found in the man’s home, federal wildlife cops have forwarded that case to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles for review, Katzenstein said.

He added that he doesn’t believe the feathers are from the missing birds, but federal prosecutors won’t comment.

The U.S. Eagle Protection Act calls for up to $5,000 in fines and a one-year prison term for anybody convicted of illegally selling the birds. The suspect has denied wrongdoing and said that as a Native American, he has a right to have eagle feathers.

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When is a mask not a mask? When you forget to put it on.

A 19-year-old man was arrested recently on suspicion of robbing a Circle K in Oxnard. Even though he was wearing a mask, the clerk recognized Alejandro Rivera Ornelas because he was a regular customer, according to Oxnard Police Officer Michael Young--and because the robber didn’t put his mask on until he was in plain sight at the front door of the store, police said.

The robber, armed with a shotgun, took $70 from the clerk and fled in a car, Young said.

Ornelas was arrested a few blocks away, after the clerk gave cops a description of the suspect and his vehicle. The cash believed to be the loot was recovered in the car, police said.

Ornelas pleaded not guilty to a charge of armed robbery last week and remains in Ventura County Jail on $100,000 bail.

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He doesn’t hop, but he keeps his pouch full.

Police believe an armed man known as the Kangaroo Bandit, who recently struck an Orange County bank, is the same person who robbed three Ventura County banks in February and March.

So named because he wears a backpack on his chest, the robber has done 15 takeover-style holdups since last August in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, according to authorities.

As for the unusual configuration of the backpack, “it makes it easier to access money or weapons,” said Dave Wearp, a detective with the Yorba Linda police.

The Kangaroo Bandit’s last heist was in Yorba Linda on April 14. The Ventura County banks that were hit are Hawthorne Savings in Thousand Oaks, First Western in Simi Valley and Los Robles Bank in Camarillo.

In addition to the pack, the robber often sports a brimmed fishing hat or baseball cap, as well as a fake beard that looks as if it were painted on with black shoe polish, cops say.

He’s white, 25 to 35, about 6 feet and 180 pounds, with short brown hair, authorities said.

The FBI believes the robber isn’t done yet, and they say he’s considered armed and dangerous.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.