OJAI : Lone Robbers Take $3,000 From 2 Banks

Lone robbers struck banks on opposite ends of Ventura County on Tuesday afternoon, escaping with an estimated $3,000 from banks in Ojai and Thousand Oaks, authorities said.

The robberies were the second and third reported in the county this year, close to the pace of 1992, when robbers held up a record 97 banks in Ventura County, said FBI Special Agent Gary Auer.

The first robbery Tuesday occurred shortly before 3 p.m. in Ojai, when a man described as six feet tall entered the Bank of A. Levy branch on Ojai Avenue and presented a note to a teller, said Sheriff’s Lt. Paul Anderson.

After lifting his shirt to show the teller a gun handle, the man was handed $2,000 in cash and fled the bank on foot, Anderson said. The white sweat shirt that the man wore was decorated with the name “Hard Rock Cafe,” he said.

At 4:30 p.m., a man described as in his 30s with a salt-and-pepper wig walked into a Bank of America branch on Westlake Boulevard and approached a teller, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Keith Parks.

The suspect, who was about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and wore a dark blue trench coat, simulated a gun in his coat pocket as he demanded money from the teller, Parks said. After he was handed some money, he approached a second teller and demanded more, he said.

The suspect fled in a red Camaro with an estimated $1,000, Parks said.