Robber hits bank in Ladera Ranch

LADERA RANCH – Deputies are searching for a man who robbed a bank on Tuesday night, the second hold-up in Ladera Ranch within the last month.

The robber entered the Union Bank branch in the 25600 block of Crown Valley Parkway shortly before 6 p.m., handed the teller a note demanding money and then fled on foot with an unknown amount of cash, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Dwyer said.

No weapon was seen during the robbery and no injuries were reported. The man was last seen running toward a nearby housing development.

Deputies, with the assistance of the Sheriff’s helicopter, were searching for the robber on Tuesday night. Dwyer said they planned to bring in bloodhounds to see if they could pick up the man’s trail.

Authorities described the robber as a thin, dark-skinned male in his 40s who was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and camouflage-patterned baseball cap.

Tuesday’s robbery follows a Feb. 18 hold-up at a U.S. Bank branch less than a mile away.

That robbery, which occurred about 9:20 a.m. at the bank in the 100 block of Corporate Drive, was carried out by a man who handed a teller a note in a manila folder that claimed he had a weapon, though none was seen. The suspect in the Feb. 18 robbery was described as a heavy-set Latino man, about 35 years old, 5-foot-3 and around 160 pounds.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the robberies were linked, though the initial description of the suspects released by authorities did not match.

Officials are asking anyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Department at 714-628-7170.

BY SEAN EMERY /   ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

If you are charged with a crime, contact an experienced Orange County Bail Bondsman to assist you in any bail situation.

 

Police: Another report of attempt to lure student into car

Deputies are investigating a second report of an attempt by young men to lure a South County middle school student into a vehicle and trying to determine if the incidents were pranks, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department official said Tuesday.

The second report came from a 12-year-old boy who said he was approached by a large, white SUV with more than two occupants as he was riding his bicycle near Trabuco Mesa Elementary School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Sgt. Nancy Wilkey said. The boy was asked to stop riding his bike, but he kept bicycling and the driver took off, Wilkey said. The incident happened about 3:05p.m. Friday.

At about 3:20 p.m. Friday, two young men in a sedan approached a 13-year-old girl near Chaparral Elementary School in Ladera Ranch, Wilkey said. The girl told authorities the young men asked her to help them look for a missing puppy, and, when she declined, they offered her candy. She again declined and kept walking home. The girl described the vehicle as a white Infiniti, Wilkey said.

Though the incident in Rancho happened first, it was reported after the incident in Ladera.

In both situations, the driver was described as a white, teenage male with shaggy, light-colored hair, police said. That is where the similarity between the incidents ends, Wilkey said. The boy and the girl were re-interviewed Tuesday, and police patrolled the areas after school but didn’t find anything suspicious, she said.

There was no physical attempt to force the students into the vehicles, Wilkey said. Investigators believe that the incidents occurred and the reports are credible, Wilkey added, “but based on the information, we’re still really looking at it to see if it was pranks or determine whether or not there should be concern.”

She said officials do not think there is a threat to the community, but the investigation is active.

“We’ll work it until we’ve exhausted any possible leads that we have,” she said. “There’s going to be high visibility patrols in the area to make sure the kids feel safe.”

 

Police: ‘Snowboarder bandit’ robbed bank in Irvine

IRVINE – A serial robber known as the “snowboarder bandit” is believed to have struck at an Irvine bank Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

The robbery was reported at a Wells Fargo branch in the 6500 block of Quail Hill Parkway just after 5 p.m., Irvine police Sgt. Steve Randall said.

The Snowboarder Bandit is suspected in five Orange County bank robberies.

A note may have been used in the robbery, but no weapons were seen, and no injuries were reported, Randall added.

The robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

The robber is believed to be the man who authorities have linked to holdups in Laguna Hills, Anaheim Hills, Ladera Ranch and Corona del Mar, said Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman.

Authorities have described the serial robber as a white man in his mid-20s to mid-30s, who is about 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds.

FBI officials earlier Wednesday announced that the number of bank robberies in nearby counties fell to a 30-year low last year, although they saw an uptick in January.

The latest robbery is being investigated by the Irvine Police Department and the FBI’s Orange County Bank Robbery Task Force.