The robbery happened on January 27. Police say 48-year-old Charles Clements of Anaheim abducted a female bank teller from her home. The teller was pregnant at the time.
Clements forced the teller to drive to the Bank of the West location on Brookhurst Street, where she worked. At gunpoint, he ordered the teller to summon another employee to the parking lot, who was then held as a hostage while the teller robbed her own bank.
"She was given instructions that police were not to be called, so with the assistance of a third employee they were able to get the money, take it out to the parking lot," said Sgt. Rick Martinez, Anaheim Police Dept.
Police say the two bank employees drove Clements to a nearby location, where he left with what police described as a substantial amount of cash.
Police arrested Clements, along with his wife, 45-year-old Tammy Clements, and her stepson, 28-year-old Bryan Bradley. Police say all three were co-conspirators.
"We believe that they spent a long time -- months -- in planning and finally the execution of the robbery," said Sgt. Martinez.
Anaheim detectives worked with the FBI for more than three months before making the arrests.
"I can't give away what it was that led us to us focusing on the one guy," said Sgt. Martinez. "But I can tell you it was a very thorough investigation by our detectives and the FBI that put a lot of work into this. They travelled from California to Texas to Arizona."
Investigators say that Clements was arrested at his home, not far from the Bank of the West location and the bank teller's residence.
Sgt. Martinez reports that the teller has had her child and that she is on maternity leave.
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