3 Men Sought in Robberies of Area Banks

Los Angeles police are seeking the public’s help in finding three people suspected to be involved in recent bank robberies in the San Fernando Valley.

Two are wanted in connection with a robbery and hostage case and the third in connection with a series of seven robberies, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.

On March 15, two armed men wearing ski masks entered a Washington Mutual branch in Van Nuys, pistol-whipped a bank manager and escaped, police said. Later, one robber allegedly held a family hostage.

After the men entered the bank, they jumped over the tellers counter and demanded money, Robbery Homicide Division Det. Joe O’Donnell said.

One robber struck a female bank manager on the head several times with his gun when she did not open the vault quickly enough, O’Donnell said. The woman was not seriously injured.

The men fled in a stolen van, which officers said they chased into an alley two blocks away.

“They ran in different directions, and as they ran, they discarded clothing,” O’Donnell said. “They just fled on foot throughout the neighborhood.”

Police recovered the stolen van, money and weapons, but the men remain at large.

Later that evening, police said, one suspected robber broke into an apartment near the bank and held a family of four at knifepoint for more than three hours. The family was not harmed, O’Donnell said.

Police described the man as African American, in his early 30s, 150 pounds and 5 feet, 7 inches tall. Police had no description of his partner.

A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the robber who held the family hostage.

A third man is sought in connection with seven other bank robberies in the last four months, including one that occurred Wednesday at the Pacific Coast Bank in Encino, O’Donnell said.

Police described the man as white, between 35 and 45, with salt and pepper hair, between 150 and 180 pounds and between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8.

“Every bank [that he robbed] was on Ventura Boulevard or a block away,” O’Donnell said. “He’s heading up Ventura Boulevard. We don’t know if he lives in the area, and we don’t know a whole lot about him.”

The suspect is known as the “Mumbles Bandit,” because he speaks quietly when he demands money, police said. He is usually accompanied by a getaway driver of unknown description.

Police do not think there is a connection between the March 15 robbery and the Mumbles Bandit, O’Donnell said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Robbery Homicide Division at (213) 485-0780 or the LAPD at (213) 485-2504.