La Cañada branch of Bank of America robbed

A male suspect on Monday entered a Bank of America branch in La Cañada Flintridge, slipped a teller a threatening note and walked away with an undisclosed amount of cash, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies continue to search for the suspect, described as Hispanic, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and in his late 20s or early 30s. He was of medium build with dark hair and dark eyes.

At the time of the robbery he was wearing black pants and a black shirt, authorities said. He was also wearing a black baseball cap turned backward with the letters “NYPD” on it.

The suspect entered the bank at approximately 11 a.m., handed a bank teller a note demanding cash, Sgt. Ray Harley said. No weapon was visible.

“He got some money and walked out of the bank,” Harley said.

Neither bank employees nor motorists in the parking lot saw which direction he headed, Harley said. Sheriff’s patrol cars and a helicopter blanketed the area immediately following the incident, but were working without a vehicle description, Harley said.

Investigators declined to elaborate on the contects of the note or the amount of cash stolen, but an e-mail distributed by the La Cañada Chamber of Commerce Monday stated that the note said the suspect had a bomb, and that he made off with $14,000.

The bank remained closed for several hours on Monday, and employees emerged at least once to turn away waiting customers.

Michael Stremfel, owner of an adjacent business, Flintridge Pharmacy & Medical Supply, said he didn’t realize anything was wrong until he saw the sheriff’s cars and heard the helicopter overhead.

“I am over there every day,” Stremfel said of the Bank of America. “I know all of those people. So I just went over there and confirmed that the door was locked.”

The most recent La Cañada bank robbery took place on Oct. 22 two masked men entered Chase bank in the 700 block of Foothill Boulevard and wielded guns before escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash. On Oct. 19, a man robbed a La Crescenta branch of Citibank, in the 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard, and made off with $5,000.