FBI says 'Highway 101 bandit' still at large

Suspect on video

A man suspected of attempting to rob a Thousand Oaks bank last week is still at large, according to FBI Special Agent Kenneth E. Smith.

The FBI calls the man who confronted a teller at Community West Bank, 951 S. Westlake Blvd., at 1:57 p.m. on Sept. 18, "The Highway 101 bandit."

According to a Thousand Oaks Police Department report, the would-be robber gave the teller a demand note. The teller told the suspect she could not meet his demand and showed him an empty cash drawer. The suspect fled on foot.

The department released photos of the suspect from a surveillance tape taken during the alleged robbery attempt.

The bandit is also suspected of a robbery at a Bank of America in Santa Barbara on Aug. 8 and of robbing a bank in the San Jose area on Aug. 25 and one in Sandy, Utah, on Sept. 4.

The bandit enters a bank and presents a note demanding $100 and $50 bills. He's said to be a white male in his 60s, about 5 feet 8 inches, 170 pounds, with gray hair and a receding hairline. He usually wears a T-shirt, blue jeans and largeframed, wraparoundstyle sunglasses. He sometimes wears a hat. He's threatened to use a weapon in some of his robberies.

In the Thousand Oaks bank he had a gray mustache and was wearing a beige T-shirt. He was last seen running north on Townsgate Road.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Special Agent Derrel Craig with the FBI's Ventura Resident Agency at (805) 677-7348 or the FBI's 24-hour desk in Los Angeles at (310) 4776565.

- Nancy Needham