Armed robbers still at large

By Joanna Ovalle, Forty-Niner Online
Sept. 19, 1995

No arrests have been made so far on the California Federal Bank armed robbery on Sept. 12.

The bank, which is located on Bellflower Boulevard at Stearns Street in Long Beach, was held up last week by several armed suspects who fled in a late-model turquoise sedan prior to police arrival.

"We have some solid leads," said Long Beach Police Department Sgt. William Snow, who works in the robbery detail unit.

But Snow said that police could not release any more information due to the serious nature of the case. He also could not verify any information, saying that it could jeopardize police investigations.

Snow explained that in bank robbery investigations, the officers at the scene obtain testimonies from bank tellers, customers or any other person who might be helpful in obtaining a profile of the suspects.

The police also use the surveillance tapes from the bank, pictures taken of the crime scene, fingerprints and any other evidence collected by crime lab specialists at the scene to obtain more information on the possible suspects.

Once this information is collected, the robbery detail department looks at the original report to decide if further investigation is necessary. Then police follow up on the leads until they have a definite suspect, Snow said.

If everything goes well, Snow said that police will catch the suspect and have a strong case for the prosecution.

The case is also being investigated by the FBI. "We don't disclose any information on ongoing investigations," said Cara Anrich, an FBI spokesperson.

Anrich said she could not disclose any specifics on the case, but added that they are working together with the Long Beach Police Department to solve it.