Crime & Safety
Chatsworth Man Arrested in 2 Bank Robberies
Suspect was a customer at one of the banks, officials say.
A Chatsworth man suspected of robbing both a Chatsworth bank and Woodland Hills bank where he was a customer, has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday.
On May 18, James Jon Erhardt allegedly robbed the Union Bank, 21821 Devonshire St., in Chatsworth, where he is accused of stealing $3,935 from a frightened employee, according to the FBI.
The day before, Erhardt is accused of using force, violence and intimidation to rob the Bank of America, 5959 Canoga Ave., in Woodland Hills, of $3,900 at 5 p.m., they said.
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Erhardt , 43, is due in the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles June 3 for a preliminary armed robbery hearing. He is being held at the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center.
The FBI said that Erhardt allegedly passed a note written in pencil and pen to a frightened Bank of America teller saying he was armed and demanded $100 bills. He is seen on a surveillance tape allegedly robbing the bank where the manager said he was a regular customer.
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Erhardt was identified in a photograph line up in both cases.
Erhardt allegedly used the same technique at 1:30 p.m. at the Union Bank in Chatsworth where he was given $3,935 by a teller, according to the FBI complaint.
Erhardt and a childhood friend, reported to be the driver of the getaway car, were arrested on May 19 by the Topanga Division of the LAPD at a Holiday Inn on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills where the pair had been staying for a few days.
A search of Erhardt’s car in the hotel parking lot revealed a pair of black sunglasses similar to those worn by the Union Bank robber, along with a yellow lined notebook and a handwritten demand note similar to that described by witnesses at Union Bank, according to the FBI complaint.
Erhardt, who is on probation, reportedly passed through a metal detector at the Union Bank without setting off an alarm, according to the complaint. The robber may have used a khaki-colored demand note similar to the cardboard backing of a lined paper pad, a witness said.
The surveillance camera at the Union Bank was not operable and no images from the robbery were taken, according to the complaint.
