FBI Links 2 to 19 Bank Holdups in 6-Week Spree

Two Antelope Valley men arrested this week in a bank robbery are believed connected to as many as 18 other similar robberies during a six-week spree in an area stretching from Palmdale to Long Beach, the FBI reported Friday.

Carlos Villegas, 25, of Lake Los Angeles, and Wendell Mitchell, 23, of Palmdale were arrested Wednesday by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies shortly after the robbery of an American Savings Bank in the 38500 block of 9th Street East in Palmdale, authorities said.

A deputy spotted them in a car and noticed that one man matched the description of the suspect who went into the bank and gave a teller a note demanding money. Cash believed to have been from the robbery was found in their car, authorities said.

Agent Fred Reagan, FBI spokesman in Los Angeles, said the two suspects have been linked by descriptions and other undisclosed evidence to 18 other bank robberies. Reagan said it was unclear whether both men took part in each robbery or took turns robbing banks. An investigation is continuing.

The robberies began Aug. 4. In each case, a robber handed a teller a note demanding cash and indicated he was armed, though no weapon was ever seen.

“They hit a pretty large area,” Reagan said. “It was various places, from Palmdale to Long Beach to Downey.”

In some cases, the robbers fled without any money. In the other robberies, they stole a total of about $20,000, the FBI said.