Local Citibank Robbed on Monday

Just 10 days after one Bank of America robbery and five days after a robbery at Mort’s Deli, the Palisades village was jarred Monday morning by yet another crime. The Citibank located at 15215 Sunset was robbed at approximately 10:10 a.m. when a man entered the bank posing as a customer. The suspect was described as a white male with blonde hair, blue eyes and a mustache, 5’7′, 170 lbs., 30 to 40 years old, wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt and khaki pants. According to the LAPD police report, he approached a teller, displayed a handgun and demanded money. The suspect then fled on foot towards Sunset. Three patrol units and a helicopter responded to the call with the first unit arriving on scene within one minute of the call being dispatched. The robbery is being investigated by the LAPD-Robbery Homicide Bank section. About 30 minutes later, the Bank of America branch at 15314 Sunset received a suspicious phone call that led employees to conduct their own evacuation. The neighboring businesses’Affinity Bank, Sotheby’s, Tivoli, Quiznos and Starbucks’were then all ordered evacuated by LAPD. ‘An area search was conducted by the bank personnel and LAPD officers,’ said Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale. ‘It was later determined there were no suspicious packages.’ An investigation is being conducted by the LAPD-Criminal Conspiracy Division. ‘The suspects in these bank robberies are all serial robbers,’ Ragsdale told the Palisadian-Post Tuesday. ‘In other words, they are not targeting the Palisades. They’re targeting banks across the region.’ Ragsdale added that the suspect who robbed Bank of America on Saturday, March 19, has been identified and is a fugitive. He was connected to other crimes in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Ventura. ‘There’s speculation about why these bank robberies are occurring,’ Ragsdale said, explaining that ‘Banks on the westside have less bank security and are typically carrying much more cash in drawers.’ He pointed out that after Wells Fargo on Swarthmore was robbed repeatedly in 2003, it finally put up what are called ‘bandit barriers’ (bulletproof glass fronts on teller windows) at the suggestion of LAPD. Since then the bank has not had one robbery. ‘We’re looking at how to make the banks more secure from this type of crime,’ Ragsdale said.