By Jon Chown
Authorities are still searching for five men who wore ski masks and construction clothing while robbing US Bank in Rancho Del Mar shopping center on the afternoon of Nov. 5.
Around 4 p.m., deputies received a call that five men had robbed US Bank, with several having handguns and knives. The robbers escaped south on Soquel Drive in a newer model red Honda CRV. Nobody was injured during the incident.
Sergeant Zach West of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, said the masks were able to hide the suspects’ facial features. At least two were armed with handguns and another had a knife.
West said the robbery was obviously predetermined, as the suspects had masks and gloves, but it may have not been well thought out. That US Bank location is a cashless. There isn’t even an ATM machine.
“I don’t know for sure if they were able to taken any property,” West said.
Regardless of the lack of cash, West said the FBI is now involved because it was a bank robbery. Other local jurisdictions are also assisting in the investigation.
“Bank robberies are a rare occurrence for Santa Cruz County, but anytime something like this happens it becomes a collaboration,” he said.