Two Los Angeles men were arrested July 9 about a month after authorities allege they followed a man from a Thousand Oaks bank, broke into his vehicle and stole his recently withdrawn cash.
Deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a theft in the 1000 block of East Avenida De Los Arboles around 12:15 p.m on June 3, according to a news release.
The deputies learned the victim had $14,000 in cash stolen from his vehicle parked outside a convenience store and determined the crime was likely an instance of bank jugging. The crime involves targeting people who have recently withdrawn cash from a bank, often following them to a secondary location and stealing the cash once it is left unattended.
Two days earlier in Camarillo, two other men were arrested for another instance of bank jugging.
As for Thousand Oaks, investigators with the sheriff’s commercial and residential burglary unit determined the suspects followed the victim from a bank located around Janss and Moorpark roads to the convenience store. Once the victim entered the store, one man watched the victim while the other broke into his vehicle and stole the recently withdrawn money.
Within days, sheriff’s investigators identified the two Los Angeles men as suspects. The men were believed to be involved in similar crimes in Torrance, including one with an elderly woman who was actively transferring around $700,000 in cash and personal property, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspects were located in San Dimas and taken into custody while sheriff’s investigators and the Torrance Police Department served a search warrant for a residence associated with the men. Investigators located gold and jewelry belonging to victims in Torrance.
The Thousand Oaks victim’s cash was not recovered, sheriff’s Detective Timothy Sperber said.
Both men were booked in the Ventura County jail. One man was arrested on suspicion of felony grand theft and other special allegations with bail set at $50,000 while the other was arrested on suspicion of felony conspiracy with bail set at $20,000, according to the sheriff’s office and jail records.
They were set to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on July 13.
Levi Kauffman is a summer intern for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at lkauffman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 2 arrested in $14K theft from man followed from Thousand Oaks bank
Reporting by Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Levi Kauffman, Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
