Bank Robber Still at Large Following High-Speed Pursuit

Police believe they may have arrested the wrong man following a , including a US Bank in Lake Forest.

The robbery of a grocery store Wells Fargo led to a high-speed pursuit from Placentia to Paramount yesterday, where a pair of suspects ditched their car and fled on foot. Police shot one of the suspects and five hours later arrested a second man but later released him after concluding that he had no involvement in the robberies. The remaining suspect is still at large.

Placentia police pursued the suspects, following them west on the Riverside (91) Freeway, Eimiller said. According to a broadcast report, the pursuit reached speeds around 100 mph and came to an end when the vehicle crashed into a curb.The shooting apparently happened when the suspects' vehicle came to a stop about 2:45 p.m. in Paramount.

Los Angeles County Deputies from the Lakewood station set up a containment to locate the suspects when it was discovered the suspects fled the vehicle near the 8000 block of Denbo Street, said sheriff's Deputy Benjamin Grubb.

"During the search on the 8100 block of Century Boulevard, a deputy saw the suspect holding a handgun and told him to put it down,'' Grubb said. "The suspect did not comply and instead turned with the weapon pointed at the deputy, who fired his duty weapon at the suspect, striking him," Grubb said.

The suspect was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition, Grubb said. On Friday the suspect—identified as Paul Acosta, 27, of Los Angeles—was still recuperating from his wounds. He was expected to be booked on suspicion
of bank robbery after treatment concludes.

"The suspect's handgun was recovered and revealed to be a replica," Grubb said. A large police perimeter at the shooting scene lasted four hours, and ended with the arrest of a man believed by deputies to be one of the bank robbers. But that man was eventually released.

It was "later determined that the man had no involvement with the incident,'' Grubb said.

FBI investigators believe it was the so-called "Market Duo" bandits that held up the Wells Fargo branch inside a Stater Bros. grocery store at 1111 Imperial Highway in Placentia, about 2:15 p.m. Thursday, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. They are believed to have held up the same bank branch Nov. 21, she added.

The Market Duo bandits are also suspected of robbing the U.S. Bank branch at 1101 Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach on Nov. 3, and a U.S. Bank branch at 2101 W. Imperial Highway in La Habra on Oct. 25, according to FBI Special Agent Chris Gicking.

A has also been attributed to the pair.

-City News Service