 |
|
|
|
|
Gunmen rob three banks in two weeks
By Sam Scott
Armed bank robbers have hit two Sunnyvale banks three times in less than two weeks, prompting an investigation by federal and local law enforcement.
Two men, wearing ski masks and wielding handguns, entered the branch office of Bank of America at 921 E. Arques Ave. at 10:25 a.m. Sunnyvale Public Safety Captain Chuck Eaneff described the incident as a "takeover" robbery. One suspect jumped the bank counter, he said, while the second suspect remained in the lobby. No one was injured in the robbery, authorities said.
Eaneff said he did not know the amount of cash stolen. He also would not divulge any possible leads authorities might have. "If we knew who he was," he said, "I wouldn't want [the robbers] to go into hiding."
Eaneff said suspects employing similar methods also robbed a nearby bank twice during the previous week. On the afternoons of Feb. 14. and Feb. 22, robbers held up the Union Bank branch office at 1109 E. Arques Ave., only a couple of blocks from the Bank of America office. Sunnyvale Public Safety officers, along with federal agents, are investigating a connection between the crimes. The FBI investigates all bank robberies.
In all instances, Eaneff said, the suspects were described as two black men wearing ski masks and armed with hand guns. He describe them as being of medium build and between five feet seven and six feet tall.
Eaneff said that in response to the Union Bank robberies, the Sunnyvale Police had notified locals banks, including the Bank of America branch that robbers were operating in the area.
Eaneff said he believes authorities will apprehend the suspects. The heavy presence of cameras in the bank and the involvement of the FBI make bank robbery a difficult crime to get away with, he said.
"Bank robbers are usually caught," he said. "We're confident we'll eventually catch them."
Though the heists share similarities in style, suspects and location, Eaneff said investigators had made no conclusive link between the two. "It's not determined if they are related to each other," he said.
The robberies mark the first such incidents in the city this year. Sunnyvale averages between six to 12 bank robberies a year, Eaneff said.
"Bank robberies happen on a regular basis," he said. "Not frequently, but they happen."
However, he said, three concentrated robberies in such a short period of time is rare. He said the banks' location near Lawrence Expressway may make them a more attractive location for robbers planning their escape routes.
"Banks want to be where there's easy access, but that easy access works two ways," Eaneff said.
|
|
|
|
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
