LOS ANGELES – An arraignment hearing scheduled Thursday was postponed until Monday for a Los Angeles man who barricaded himself in his car after he allegedly attempted to rob a bank in Koreatown.
Oscar Canales, 24, was charged with attempted bank robbery in an indictment filed last week in Los Angeles federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Canales allegedly entered the Bank of Hope in the 2700 block of West Olympic Boulevard, west of Vermont Avenue, about 1:30 p.m. on April 13. Dressed in a dark suit, Canales is alleged to have verbally demanded money from two tellers. According to witnesses, he reached into his waistband as if to grab a weapon, court papers show.
When Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to the bank, Canales was holding a knife in one hand and appeared to be holding another object in his other hand and threatened to have a bomb, federal prosecutors allege.
Almost an hour later, Canales left the bank on foot and barricaded himself in his vehicle for several hours before officers safely removed him. During the standoff, a SWAT team was called and nearby residents were evacuated as a precaution.
Investigators are continuing to determine whether Canales may be responsible for other bank robberies or attempted bank robberies.
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