One of the robbers stood next to the security guard while the other jumped over the bank counter and demanded money at gunpoint, she said.
The robbers told the tellers, “Everybody get down on the ground and count backward from 90,” Arocho said.
The men fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, Arocho said.
An Altadena sheriff’s detectives unit saw the men in a silver Honda Prelude, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Larry Landreth.
The thieves looked at the sheriff’s detectives, then drove away fast and swerved in between cars, he said.
“It was obviously an attempt to flee,” Landreth said.
One of the thieves was wearing a ski mask, surgical gloves, gray sweat pants, a gray hooded sweat shirt and sneakers, Arocho said.
The other man wore a surgical mask, surgical gloves and a gray hooded sweat shirt. Both carried a gray nylon bag.
The men were described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall and 6 feet 4 inches tall, respectively, and weighing between 180 and 200 pounds.
Sheriff’s officials said the guns appeared to be fake because they found an airsoft pistol near the bank.
But Arocho said FBI agents were still investigating the type of guns used in the robbery.
“Southern California has a large number of bank robberies, historically speaking, and we are on par up to where we were last year,” Arocho said.
While the recent robberies are consistent with regional averages, thieves have continued to plague the area, officials said.
“Certain bank robbers will hit an area, and then they will move into another area,” Landreth said.
On Monday, a man robbed a Citibank on the 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard at 10:40 a.m. and fled with $5,000.
He gave the teller a note, telling her to empty her cash drawer, Arocho said.
He then approached another teller and told her to open the bank vault, she said.
The tellers gave money to the man, who fled on foot, Arocho said.
The same bank was robbed Dec. 26 at gunpoint.
In April, FBI detectives arrested Michael Anthony Koselka, 54, in connection with robbing the Citibank and 14 other banks.
The Altadena robbery occurred Oct. 15 at the Chase bank on the 2300 block of Lake Avenue.
The thief wore sunglasses, a winter coat vest, a knit cap and a black long-sleeved shirt with three white stripes.
Sheriff’s and FBI officials were investigating the robberies to determine whether they are linked to others.
So far, he said one of the thieves in all three robberies was described as being 6 feet 4 inches tall.
Anyone with details about the bank robbers is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at (818) 248-3464.
