Six suspects arrested for armed robbery of Chase Bank

BARSTOW • Authorities have arrested six suspects in connection with a Tuesday morning armed robbery at the Chase Bank branch at 1291 East Main Street.

The following people were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and participation in a criminal street gang:

• Moreno Valley resident James Rials, 41
• Lancaster resident Jamal Waiters, 26
• Los Angeles resident Benny Harris, 45
• Los Angeles resident Anthony Chambers, 23
• Los Angeles resident Lasalle Kimbrough, 19
• Los Angeles resident Tamla Travis, 38

The Barstow Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery at Chase at 10:17 a.m. Tuesday.

Three men entered the bank, held customers at gun point, jumped over the counter and fled the bank in a white compact car. Chase spokesman Gary Kishner said that it is company policy to not release details regarding the amount of money that is stolen during robberies.

The Barstow Police Department received information from the Beaumont Police Department and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department that a robbery crew made of gang members from the Los Angeles area might be in Barstow shortly before the robbery, according to a police report. The information included possible vehicles used by the robbery crew. The crew is suspected in several armed bank robberies in the High Desert.

Barstow officers responding to the robbery saw and stopped the suspected get-away car and a second car, known to be associated with the robbery crew, at the intersection of Lillian Drive and Virginia Way. Rials and Harris were taken into custody at that time. Some evidence of the robbery was found in the car, according to the report.

The sheriff’s department then set up surveillance teams to watch the suspected robbery crew members’ homes and Interstate 15 between Barstow and Rancho Cucamonga. One of the surveillance teams spotted and stopped a third car, known to be associated with the robbery crew, on the southbound Interstate 15. Travis, Waiters, Chambers, and Kimbrough were in found in the car and arrested.

Evidence including dye-pack stained money, handguns and clothing believed to be from the Chase Bank robbery were recovered from the vehicle deputies stopped on Interstate 15.

Kishner said that an employee was injured during the robbery and taken to the hospital. Barstow Fire Department Division Chief Sal Corrao said that an engine responded to a call at the bank at 10:26 a.m. The firefighter/paramedics treated the employee for non-life threatening injuries at the scene.

City spokesman John Rader said the police department didn’t issue a press release or any information regarding the robbery until Wednesday because most of the staff was unavailable to provide information. Rader said a large portion of the staff was involved in investigating the case and more were handling the day-to-day operations of the police department.

The investigation into the robbery is continuing; people with any information regarding the investigation can contact Detective R. Colleoc at (760) 255-5167. People with information and desiring to remain anonymous can call WE-TIP at 1-800-782-7463 or can visit the WE-TIP website at www.wetip.com.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or dheldreth@desertdispatch.com