SPPD, FBI release sketches of two of three Wells Fargo robbers

By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula TimesSanta Paula police and the FBI have released composite sketches of two of the three men who were involved in the takeover holdup of the Wells Fargo Bank office located inside an area grocery market. “At this point we’re exploring all possibilities” in finding out the identities of the three suspects who robbed the bank just before it closed, said Det. Michelle Velasco of the Santa Paula Police Department.Investigators are hoping “shoppers in the grocery store or in the shopping center may have witnessed the suspects,” and offer information on description or even identity. The robbery occurred on Thursday, January 6, and was reported to Santa Paula Police at approximately 6:53 p.m.According to witnesses, three male subjects, at least two with handguns, entered Vons grocery market at 576 W. Main St. and took over the bank. One suspect held a security guard at gunpoint during the takeover. A second suspect jumped over the bank counter into the employee area and at gunpoint ordered bank personnel to hand over the cash.Bank employees complied with the demand, and after collecting an undetermined amount of cash the three suspects ran from the bank area and out of the grocery market. The suspects fled to a white pickup truck in the Vons parking lot, and were last observed traveling southbound on Peck Road toward Highway 126. No employees or customers were injured in the incident and no shots were fired.The suspects were described as two Hispanic males and a black male. The sketches released are of the two Hispanic suspects, and Det. Velasco said investigators are “working with another witness to get that last suspect’s composite done.” Not all of the suspects spoke during the robbery, she added.