Robber targets Agoura B of A

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GUARD DUTY- Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies stand watch outside the Agoura Hills Bank of America on Monday. A man wearing a mask robbed the Agoura Hills Bank of America on Kanan Road Monday afternoon, presumably at gunpoint.

"He put his hand into a bag, so the assumption was he was holding some kind of device," said Lt. John Benedict of Lost Hills Sheriff's Station.

He stole a reported $800.

Benedict said the suspect was described by witnesses as a medium-built, 5-foot, 8-inch white male. He entered the bank at about 2 p.m.

Ron Redmond, a bank employee, said the robber came into the bank and shouted, "Everyone hit the floor."

Belinda Jesse-Carr, a customer, said she and her husband had only been in the bank for a few minutes when she saw the man walk inside and heard him say, "This is a robbery." He ordered everybody to lie down on the floor. She said there were about 15 customers in line and many employees.

"It seemed like he had something in his hand," Carr said. "By the time the police got there he was long gone."

She said the man approached just one teller and, when he left, some money was scattered on the bank floor. She said the man wore either a handkerchief or a bandana tied around his face.

"We stayed on the floor for a few extra minutes," Carr said. When she finally got up, she said she looked out the window and saw the man walking by the side of the bank.

Witnesses said the man left the scene in a green Ford van.

There were no injuries.

"I was petrified to death," Carr said. "It was the scariest experience I've ever been through in Agoura."

Anybody with any information about the suspect is urged to contact the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station (818) 878-1808.

Bank of America in Agoura Hills was the scene of an attempted robbery in June 2005. A Westlake Village man was arrested for the crime and another bank robbery in the vicinity. - Stephanie Bertholdo