The hard work of 15 detectives with the East County major crimes unit of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department has led to the arrest of 41-year-old Richard Conant, a transient originally from Thousand Oaks, who's allegedly connected with two recent Thousand Oaks bank robberies.

Conant has been charged with two counts of armed robbery and the sale of narcotics, said Capt. Ron Nelson of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. The sale of narcotics charge was based on a previous warrant, he said.

Conant was arrested at 3:15 p.m. Tues., Nov. 21 without incident after detectives discovered he

was staying at the Vagabond Motel in Ventura, according to a department report. A weapon like the one used in the robberies was taken into evidence, along with methamphetamines and less than $100 cash, Nelson said.

The detectives were acting on several witness and investigative leads regarding the two stolen motorcycles that were possibly used in both robberies.

Since the leads suggested the suspect was a transient, detectives began investigating hotels and motels in the area.

"There are a lot of hotels and motels, especially in Ventura, where the beach brings in tourists," Nelson said. "It was a big task, but we did it."

The Bank of the West in Thousand Oaks was robbed on Nov. 8 by a suspect using a gun and wearing a motorcycle helmet. When the suspect tried to flee the crime on a motorcycle, the motorcycle failed to start, and the suspect ran on foot, without the motorcycle or the helmet.

On Nov. 18, the World Savings Bank in T.O. was also robbed by someone wearing a motorcycle helmet. This time, the motorcycle was successfully used as a getaway vehicle and was found not far from the bank in a residential area.

-Nancy Needham