202005.22
0

Santa Ana man with an axe arrested in failed bank robbery in La Mirada

by in News

A  44-year-old Santa Ana man walked into a La Mirada bank on Friday and slipped the teller a note that said he intended to rob the bank.

But also on the note, the man made an odd request: he demanded fake money.

The teller walked straight to the back of the bank, rang a silent alarm, and told a group of other employees to stay put, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Tenaya Brown. There were several patrons inside the bank at the time, she said.

After a few seconds alone at the counter, the 44-year-old, identified by authorities as Francisco Javier Cano, walked out of the Chase Bank on 15128 East Rosecrans Avenue and toward the drawn guns of several Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, Brown said.

Cano immediately surrendered to deputies who booked the man on suspicion of robbery.

Brown said deputies found an axe in his waistband and a second note inside his pocket, which asked for “real money.”

Investigators were not able to establish a motive in the failed robbery attempt, Brown said.

“It’s very, very bizarre for us,” she said. “We just assumed he just really wanted to go jail today.”

According to the sheriff’s department’s inmate records, Cano has been booked at least 11 times since July 2018. The reasons for previous arrests was not immediately available.

City News Service contributed to this report.