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According
to the Red Cross
monitoring department, a
unit was sent to attending
a woman who was apparently
in a nervous crisis.
/ A.M. Costa Rica
wire services photo
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Two armed robbers
stole cash at Banco
de Costa Rica branch in
Aserrí
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
At 3:50 p.m. on Monday, police
officers in the town of Aserrí*
said robbers held up a branch of
the Bank of Costa Rica.
Aserrí is a city in the south
mountain area of San Jose
Province.
According to eyewitness reports,
two armed men hiding their faces
with balaclava helmets or ski
masks entered the bank and
threatened the security officer.
The two men managed to take the
gun from the officer and forced
the people to throw themselves
to the ground.
According to an extra official
version, not yet confirmed by
the representatives of the bank,
the men took the money in cash
from two cashiers windows open
at the time of the robbery, and
they also took some of the
clients' belongings.
Then the men left the place on a
motorcycle.
According to the Red Cross
monitoring department, a unit
was sent to attending a woman
who was apparently in a serious
nervous crisis.
At the close of this edition,
the police along with officers
of the Judicial Investigation
Organization continued working
on the site interviewing with
witnesses, collecting evidence
and searching for the two
robbers.
Another bank robbery took place
June 12 in the town of Nuevo Arenal*
in Guanacaste.
As was reported on A.M. Costa
Rica, that day at 3:30 p.m.,
three men armed with guns
entered the bank while the
fourth remained in the black
getaway car. Inside the bank,
the men wore balaclavas masks
and threatened customers with
firearms.
According to witness testimony,
the bank has a double-door entry
system but it was not in use at
the time of the robbery.
Inside the bank, the robbers
took money from the cashiers.
One robber was reported to have
climbed over the class barrier
shielding the cashiers to
complete the robbery. The safe
was not touched. One of the
robbers dropped his gun in the
bank and it was there when
police arrived and are now part
of the evidence in the case.
When the robbers left the bank,
they were not wearing masks.
One of the bank tellers had the
presence of mind to include a
dye pack with the money he gave
the robbers. The dye pack was
seen to explode before the
robbers reached the getaway car.
The first car was found
abandoned in Las Palmas on a
ballast road near Nuevo Arenal.
It had a police report of being
stolen in San José June 2.
A brief statement from the bank
said, "the bank's security
authorities activated the
respective protocol. Regarding
the money stolen, a review is
being made to determine how much
was stolen."
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Should banks be
required to use a double-door
system to help prevent
robberies? We would like to know
your thoughts on this
story. Send your comments
to: news@amcostarica.com
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