Arrest in bizarre L.A. kidnap-bank heist case

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

Los Angeles police bomb squad members check for explosive devices outside a Bank of America branch in East L.A., Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012.

/ AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

(CBS/AP) HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif. - Police have arrested a man who, according to CBS Los Angeles, is believed to be the boyfriend of an East L.A. bank manager who said she was wired with explosives and forced to rob the bank on Sept. 5.

The Huntington Park Police Department revealed Wednesday that 33-year-old Ray Vega of Bell, Calif. was arrested for investigation of conspiracy and robbery on Sept. 6. Vega was subsequently released on $100,000 bail.

A police statement did not say what role Vega allegedly played, but characterized the investigation as very fluid.

Authorities have said the bank manager reported she was abducted from outside her Huntington Park home by robbers who strapped what appeared to be an explosive device to her midsection and forced her to turn over money.

The robbers got away with "a decent amount of money," sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said, declining to say how much.

At least one suspect had a gun, according to authorities, who described the robbers only as black men who wore masks.

The kidnapped woman, who was uninjured but distraught, was questioned by police detectives and FBI agents.

A bomb squad determined the device was fake.

More on Crimesider:
Sept. 10, 2012: FBI investigates Calif. bank heist, alleged kidnap as possible "copycat" case
Sept. 6, 2012 - Bank of America Heist: Calif. bank manager kidnapped, strapped to bomb and used in robbery, police say

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