Police Happen Upon 2 Botched Crimes, Arrest 5

Suspects in a botched bank robbery and an unrelated burglary attempt were arrested Tuesday by police officers who were in the right place at the right time, authorities said.

At the Bank of America on Beach Boulevard in Stanton, a man presented a note to a teller about 2:30 p.m. and mumbled something unintelligible, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Bob Rivas said.

Rivas said that when the teller asked the man to repeat what he said, he told her: “Do it or I’ll blow your head off.” She could not see whether he was armed, but he fled before she could comply with his demand.

Two off-duty Cypress police officers, who were apparently on their way into the bank, saw the man flee with what appeared to be a gun in his hand, Rivas said. The officers watched the man jump into an orange Datsun driven by another man.

The officers stopped the car and arrested Kenneth Allen McEachran, 32, who is apparently a transient, and the driver of the car, who refused to identify himself. Both men were arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery and taken to Orange County Jail, Rivas said.

In Westminster, a motorcycle officer working traffic enforcement Tuesday drove by Jonquil Avenue and saw three people running from a home as its alarm went off, Police Lt. Mike Schliskey said.

As they piled into a waiting Honda, the officer stopped them and held them at gunpoint until other police arrived. An investigation of the home showed that a bathroom window had been forced open, although nothing appeared to have been taken, Schliskey said.

Police arrested Tuan Van Le, 18, and two juveniles, 16 and 15, all of Westminster, Schliskey said. The two youths were taken to Juvenile Hall. Le was arrested on suspicion of burglary and taken to Orange County Jail.