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Man claiming to have a bomb robs bank
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A man wearing a mask and carrying what he said was a bomb demanded money from a Thousand Oaks bank Thursday, authorities said.
The robber, wearing a dark-blue hat pulled down to his eyes and a white cloth over his face, walked into Citibank at 33 N. Moorpark Road at 12:45 p.m., Ventura County Sheriff's Department officials said in a prepared statement.
He held a device that witnesses described as a cluster of batteries and wires wrapped in duct tape, and he told everyone that it was a bomb, authorities said.
Department officials said the man then walked up to two bank employees, demanded money and fled on foot toward Hillcrest Drive with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The robber is described as 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall with dark hair.
He was wearing a gray fleece shirt and dark-blue pants.
No one was injured in the robbery.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Jon Smith of the sheriff's major crimes unit at 494-8216 or Ventura County Crime Stoppers at 494-TALK. Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for a tip leading to an arrest.
Posted by goldeneye on July 4, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This crime should be punishable by death. As Americans, we need to harden our hearts to criminals and just be done with them. Catch them. Try them. Hang them and move on.
Posted by sparks240 on July 4, 2008 at 12:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
goldeneye, What if the robber turns out to be your brother? Are you still willing to hang him?
Posted by jennay1231 on July 4, 2008 at 5:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The same robbery happened two weeks ago at BofA in Agoura. Same description and same bomb story. He onlt got $800 bucks. is commiting a federal crime and threatening to kill people worth 800 dollars????
Posted by Brownpride on July 4, 2008 at 6:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes sparks!! Hang them... I hope you get robbed... Maybee you will change your mind.
Posted by mjzab on July 4, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
sparks240,
What if it was you inside the bank and it was goldeneye's brother? You would be too scared to do anything but pray for yourself! I on the other hand would wait for the suspect to move to a more isolated area and go for a head shot! One shot, one kill! Terrorists are sub-human and as a result not subject to the indulgence of society. There is no other way to deal with someone who is already willing to die. Sparks240, I am not willing to die because you lack the capacity to see to your own safety. Sheep like you should hug the guy with the bomb, it will absorb some of the blast and possibly save someone else.
Posted by goldeneye on July 4, 2008 at 9:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If it was my brother, I would still say "hang him." I would make sure that Christian words were later read over his grave. Any man that commits a crime like this has disgraced his family and his kin. He should be put to death. We need to clean our prisons out. We should hang criminals by the neck and forget about them. We need to think more about the people who are victimized by thugs like this and completely divorce ourselves of any care or concern over the criminal. Hang them. Put them against a wall and shoot them by firing squad. Whatever eliminates them faster.
Posted by air2hawaii on July 5, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe there should be more concern about the health and welfare of those employees who had to be part of that tramatic experience. Do these Corporations take the time to council these employees when a robbery occurs?. Do they send their Human Resource departments to assist the employees when they need them the most?..I doubt it..
Bank Robberies are downplayed by the Banks and the Media due to the frequency of them and I Thank God this ended without more serious physical injuries and my thoughts are with the employees..
Posted by jennay1231 on July 5, 2008 at 10:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
actually, BofA does send out a counseling team to speak with the employees if a robbery occurs. that doesn't discredit the tramatic experience. (i speak from personal experience)I don't know about other banks, but BofA takes care of the employees.
Posted by SoCalGal on July 7, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ALL banks provide counseling. It is a requirement in every bank, due to the dangerous nature of the job. I have worked for 6 different banks in my career and I assure you, both large and small, they all have adequate support and training to handle these situations. They are very tramatic and scary anyway, but the banks are prepared to handle them.
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