Bank robbery is a first for Canyon Lake

BY

The bank robbery that took place at BBVA Compass Bank last Friday, March 27, just before 1:30 p.m., was not as impressive as the police activity that took place afterward when deputies cordoned off the entire parking lot in front of the bank and refused to tell a reporter what was going on (protocol).

Judi Hoffman and Lucy Vogliardo, working next door at Canyon Lake Travel, were kind enough to say that they had been told that “yes, it was a bank robbery and would they please stay in their place of business until given the okay to leave.”

The suspect was detained a short time later in the parking lot of the Murrieta Walmart. Sheriff’s officials said his description resembled that of the suspect in robberies that had taken place earlier in Temecula and Murrieta.

Bank customer and Canyon Lake resident Lloyd Caren was in the bank when the robbery occurred. He says he had just withdrawn cash from the ATM and gone inside to get change for a $20 when he noticed the suspect enter the bank and thought at the time he looked a little out of place on the 90° day – a black man wearing a black sweater and hat.

Lloyd says he was with a teller when the suspect handed a note to a teller one window away. Lloyd did not see a weapon. Without ado, the teller handed him money and the suspect ran out the door. Lloyd says the bank manager immediately locked down the bank and everyone ran to the window to see the suspect getting in his car, parked in front of the Canyon Lake Market.

This past Monday, teller Ricardo Schobert Jr. said he was working when the suspect gave the note to teller Brian Westberg. He says the robbery was “shocking,” but, since he didn’t see a weapon, it wasn’t frightening. “If there had been a weapon, you wouldn’t see me here today,” he told The Friday Flyer.

Ricardo says Bank Manager Madianne Acock recognized what was going on right away and locked down the bank as soon as the robber left. The bank remained locked until the end of the day as police and a forensic team arrived for the investigation.

Riverside Sheriffs sent out a broadcast to all law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the suspect. It was reported that a Border Patrol agent was the one who stopped the suspect in the Walmart parking lot. Ricardo says he and other bank employees were taken by police to positively identify the suspect as the person who robbed the bank.

This was the second time in a month that major police activity was seen in front of BBVA Compass. On March 11, a Westminster murder suspect who had been under surveillance at a house in Canyon Lake was apprehended and arrested in a felony vehicle stop (guns drawn) in the area between the bank and the Canyon Lake Market.