FBI Seeks Three Women in Bank Heists

They’re called “Charlie’s Angels,” and they’re the latest addition to the FBI’s local Most Wanted list.

Sometimes wearing breezy Hawaiian dresses and clogs, at other times in plain overalls or pants, they are three women who have fast become among the most notorious bank robbers in Southern California.

Since April, the three have robbed 11 banks and credit unions in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, federal officials say.

Their modus operandi is to hit two or even three banks in a single day. While two of the robbers wait nearby, one of the women quietly stands in line as if she were a customer, authorities say.

But when she gets to the counter, she gives the teller a profanity-laced note--written in gold-glitter ink--threatening to start shooting if the cashier doesn’t hand over the loot.

Agents have dubbed them “Charlie’s Angels” because, like the characters in the hit ‘70s television series, the three profess to carry handguns in their purses--although bank tellers have yet to see a weapon.

“They keep a hand in their purse and gesture toward it,” said Daniel A. Bodony, FBI special agent and the agency’s Los Angeles bank robbery coordinator.

The robbers are an oddity because of their gender, experts say.

“This is very rare,” said Jack Levin, director of the Brudnick Center on Violence at Boston’s Northeastern University.

“There are cases of cross-gender teams we can track back to Bonnie and Clyde. One female bank robber is unusual. But three robbers--that’s one for the books.

“Violence is a masculine pursuit,” he added. “Women are where men were in the 1960s. Most haven’t graduated to using guns in crimes.”

The FBI’s Bodony agrees. “Female bank robbers equate to 2% to 3% of bank robberies annually.”

These female bandits usually come and go from a bank in a few minutes, agents say. They let their demand notes do the talking most of the time.

“They ask for large bills only, and in one incident, they told a teller, ‘I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you,’ ” said Cheryl Mimura, an FBI spokeswoman.

Officials say the three committed their first holdup at a Bank of America in West Covina April 15, striking later in the day at a Wells Fargo in Pomona.

Their busiest day was Aug. 7, when they hit a Western Financial Savings in Riverside at 10 a.m. and a teachers credit union in Anaheim shortly before 11 a.m., then rounded the day with a 2:15 p.m. job at a Riverside credit union.

The group’s latest holdups were Monday, when they robbed a Cal Fed Bank in Buena Park, then held up a Washington Mutual in Diamond Bar, Mimura said.

These felonious femmes are believed to be in their late teens or early 20s and exude a youthful style, she added. Apart from the Hawaiian print dresses and clogs, they also have been seen in flowered dresses, pink tank tops and bright plaid shorts. During one robbery, an “Angel” even wore a large straw hat, she said.

“They are very flashy,” she added.