Gunman Holds Up S&L; in Camarillo

In the second takeover-style robbery in Ventura County in a little more than 24 hours, a masked gunman held up a Camarillo savings and loan Friday and escaped on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The robbery at the World Savings & Loan at Las Posas Road and Ponderosa Drive took place about 12:30 p.m., said Special Agent Brent Robbins of the FBI’s Ventura County office.

The gunman, who was wearing dark clothing and a turtleneck sweater, walked into the branch toting a briefcase and a silver semiautomatic handgun, Robbins said.

He stepped behind the counter and ordered several tellers to put $100 bills into the briefcase. He then left the savings and loan and ran across Las Posas Road into an apartment complex.

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies searched the area but were unable to locate the gunman. A witness described him as white, in his 50s and possibly bearded.

“He walks into the bank and says, ‘This is a robbery,’ and then he opens his briefcase and tells everyone to fill it with $100 bills,” Robbins said. “He was pretty aggressive.”

Robbins said a teller handed the gunman several stacks of bills, including some with exploding dye packs attached. It was unknown whether any of the packs exploded.

The robbery followed another the day before at a Thousand Oaks branch of Bank of America. Three masked gunmen held up the bank and fled in a stolen car.

Investigators believe the Thousand Oaks robbery was committed by members of a Los Angeles street gang who had previously held up the branch on Hillcrest Drive.

Friday’s robbery was the 28th in Ventura County and the fifth in Camarillo this year. Last year there were 22 bank robberies in the county and one in Camarillo. There were 12 bank robberies in 1999 in Ventura County, Robbins said.