First bank robbery of year in Santa Monica
By Daily Press staff
DOWNTOWN — A Santa Monica bank was robbed Monday morning by a man who fled on foot and remains at large.
Authorities described the suspect as a male Hispanic with a mustache in his late 30s, standing 5’6” tall and weighing 210 pounds. He wore a burgundy and black sweater, and a white baseball cap with “BIB” printed on it when he entered Citibank shortly after 11 a.m.
“He presented a note to the teller that said, ‘Give me all your loose money. I have a gun. This is a bank robbery. Thank you very much,’” said FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley. “It was printed in black ink on a piece of torn, white-lined paper.”
It is the second time Citibank, 501 Santa Monica Blvd., has been robbed in four months.
Minutes after Monday’s robbery, the bank was closed and forensics officers from the Santa Monica Police Department were inside dusting for fingerprints, while detectives interviewed bank workers. Signs posted on the exterior bank doors read, “Due to unforeseen circumstances we will be closed for a couple of hours.”
Officials did not disclose how much money was taken in the robbery, but said the suspect asked for “loose money,” later directing the teller to hand over $100 bills.
SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega said local police responded to the scene within two minutes of being dispatched at 11:12 a.m.
Citibank also was robbed in September, allegedly by Darwin Craig Stanley, 45, known as the “Both Hands Bandit” because he used both hands to hold his demand notes. Stanley was arrested late last year in Modesto. Despite that he allegedly robbed dozens of banks, Bosley said Stanley hasn’t been charged for bank robbery and instead is being tried for a string of commercial robberies authorities think he committed.
Shortly after the robbery Monday, workers in the Citibank building, customers and others nearby said the incident happened so quickly they didn’t realize what had happened.
“I saw the cops looking around while I was looking for something to eat,” said Richard Caldwell, who was repairing the elevator shaft in the parking structure behind the bank. “They didn’t have anybody (in custody).”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 6, 2004. Read the original PDF.