A 29-year-old Compton man carrying an automatic handgun and wearing a ski mask last Friday walked into the Point Dume branch of Bank of America, located on Heathercliff Drive, got tellers to put an undisclosed amount of money in a bag and walked out, said authorities. About an hour later, both he and a 20-year-old accomplice, also from Compton, were caught, and by Sunday afternoon the money was found.
By Tuesday, a second alleged accomplice, a woman, had been arrested, the Lost Hills Sheriffs Station reported.
There were no customers at the bank at the 10:15 a.m. robbery, no one was injured at the scene, no shots were fired, and no deputies or civilians were injured during the pursuit, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley described the robbery as a “one-man take-over” type. In this type, the bandit uses “verbal violence,” announcing that he/she is taking over the bank, while in a “note job” robbery, only the teller(s) know the robbery is taking place, according to Bosley.
The bandit, who was described as having thick arms, sporting sideburns and a goatee, and wearing dark clothing, a ski mask and designer sunglasses, told the tellers, “This is a holdup, give me all your money.” Before leaving, he said, “Thank you,” Bosley said.
According to Capt. Bill McSweeney of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station, the bandit made the announcement in a loud voice and aggressive manner, and was brandishing the gun.
The bandit fled in a silver car. A description of the car was broadcast to deputies, and they located the man driving on Kanan Dume Road toward the 101 Freeway. A short time later, he switched cars and joined his accomplice in a red compact car.
As seen on several television channels throughout the day, deputies chased the cars for more than an hour, the suspects exiting and re-entering various freeways and residential streets. The pursuit ended when the men spun into the center median on the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway at Wilshire Boulevard near Westwood, deputies said.
The first suspect, Myron Keith Edwards, 29, was booked Friday at the Lost Hills Sheriffs Station on charges of armed robbery and evading arrest. The second suspect, James Franklin Johnson III, 20, was transported to a local hospital for treatment for injuries sustained in the spin out.
Late Sunday afternoon, deputies recovered the bag used in the robbery in bushes near the 1300 block of La Granada Drive, Thousand Oaks. The bag contained the ski mask, a loaded handgun and money.
The female accomplice allegedly drove the red car to Malibu and drove away the silver car, said Sgt. Tom Garagliano of the Lost Hills Station.