3 men arrested in O.C. bank robbery

Three men dubbed the “WWF Shotgun” bandits allegedly robbed a bank in Yorba Linda on Wednesday and were captured one by one with the last suspect tracked to a residential garage by SWAT officers and a police dog.

Police were called to the First Bank at 18206 Imperial Highway just after 11 a.m. by a witness, who reported seeing three people in white jumpsuits wearing colorful masks and allegedly each armed with a shotgun, said Brea police Lt. Peter Rodriguez..

“By luck, we had an officer in the area,” Rodriguez said.

The FBI identified the three suspects as the suspected WWF Shotgun bandits, Rodriguez said.

The robbers herded people into a corner of the bank and left with an undetermined amount of money, Rodriguez said.

The three got into a van and went across Yorba Linda Boulevard to a shopping area known as the Packing House, where two got into a dark Land Rover. A third man ran, but was quickly arrested, Rodriguez said.

One shotgun was recovered, Rodriguez said.

Officers from the Brea Police Department, which provides law enforcement for Yorba Linda, followed the Land Rover. The passenger jumped out at Kraemer Boulevard and Bastanchury Road.

The driver continued through Placentia, Brea and stopped in Chino Hills, where he was arrested, Rodriguez said.

After a four-hour search by members of a SWAT team, the third man was found hiding in the rafters of a nearby residential garage at 1831 Allegheny Ave. in Placentia, and taken into custody, Rodriguez said.

According to KCAL9, the suspect was sniffed out by an Anaheim police dog.

A witness said a bundle of money was found in an underground parking structure after the robbery, Channel 9 reported.

Placentia police Sgt. Tom Valentine told Channel 9 that “rapid response by officers” was key to the capture.

A woman who lives in the house on Allegheny told Channel 9 she heard a loud noise in the garage about 11:30 a.m. and checked it out but could not find anything. She was later told to leave the home by officers during the operation.

“We haven’t gone through (the vehicle) yet and we don’t know if the money is there,” he said. “There were reports of items thrown from the vehicle, and we don’t know if that was money or clothing.”

According to the FBI, the WWF Shotgun bandits robbed banks in Rowland Heights and the City of Industry, firing one shot in the air during one robbery.