Crime & Safety

Duo Suspected in Seal Beach Bank Robbery Strikes Again

FBI agents believe the same pair is responsible for a series of grocery store bank robberies.

The men who robbed the U.S. Bank in Seal Beach earlier this month may be the same bandits that have robbed two other grocery store banks Orange County, FBI officials said today.

Dubbed the Market Duo bandits, the pair is believed to be the same that robbed a Wells Fargo bank branch in a Stater Bros. grocery store in Placentia today.The robbery at 1111 E. Imperial Highway occurred about 3:20 p.m., according to Det. Corinne Loomis of the Placentia Police Department.

One of the men went to the teller window and demanded cash while the other man initially acted as a lookout, Loomis said. The second suspect at one point raised his right hand, which was covered by a blue cloth bag, and simulated having a weapon while threatening the teller, Loomis said. When the men got the money from the teller they ran out of the bank, and one of the robbers threw a dye pack out before it exploded, Loomis said.

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A similar approach was used in the Nov. 3 robbery at U.S. Bank branch at 1101 Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach Vons. According to FBI Special Agent Chris Gicking, the Market Duo may also have robbed the U.S. Bank branch at 2101 W. Imperial Highway in La Habra on Oct. 25  

In today’s robbery, one suspect was dressed in a gray sweatshirt, black baseball hat and black and white athletic shoes. The other suspect was wearing a charcoal and black windbreaker and white tennis shoes. They drove off in a black quad-cab, four-door Ford F-250, Loomis said.Both men are about 6 feet tall, weigh 170 to 200 pounds and about 35 to 45 years old, according to the FBI.

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Anyone with any information regarding the Seal Beach robbery is asked to call the on-duty Watch Commander of the Seal Beach Police Department at (562) 799-4115 or Detective-Gary Krogman at (562) 799-4100 ext. 1108.

- City News Service


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