FBI NOTES RISE IN AREA BANK HEISTS : RATE HIGHER THAN IN L.A.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

Bank robberies in Los Angeles are decreasing perhaps because of high security at city banks, but locally the FBI is noting a surge.

Bulletproof bandit barriers and other measures in L.A. banks might be sending robbers to the outlying areas, such as the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys, said FBI Special Agent Gary Auer.

There were nine bank heists in the first three months of this year in the North County, a rate ahead of the 24 committed in the region in all of 1996 and well more than the 15 reported in 1995. At the same time, the rate in Los Angeles declined.

The FBI believes one man is responsible for at least two of the local heists, one last week at Valencia National Bank's Canyon Country branch, the other March 18 in Lancaster.

They released a composite this week of the bandit - described as white with a very pale complexion, tall and slim, in his early 20s and with a long nose and blond crew cut.

He was last seen fleeing Valencia National on Soledad Canyon Road in a blue Ford Bronco. The description matches that of the man who hit Lancaster's Downey Savings on March 18 in a takeover robbery, said FBI Special Agent Brent Robbins of the Lancaster office.

Authorities said Thursday that they suspect that he lives in the Antelope Valley.

The man entered Downey Savings, drew a gun and grabbed an undisclosed amount of money from a teller. The robber wore several layers of clothes, apparently to shed as he fled.

In the Valencia National heist, he stormed into the bank at 2:17 p.m. March 31, banged a gun on the side of a counter and screamed, ``Give me the money,'' according to a Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station report.

The teller, terrified in the ordeal, quickly grabbed money from her drawer and placed it on the counter, the report said. The gunman then shouted: ``Go down below and get the money from down below (the cashier's drawer).''

The teller then stuffed the money in a light-color canvas bag, as the robber ordered her to hurry.

He fled with about $3,152 in cash, peeling off a mask outside.

``He rushes right in and does it and rushes out. He's fast,'' Robbins said.

No injuries were reported in either one of the afternoon heists.

The most recent Canyon Country bank robberies marks the ninth in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys this year, Robbins said.

Auer, who supervises the Ventura, Santa Clarita and Antelope Valley areas, said a large share of the bank robbers in these territories are drug addicts looking for quick money. And they usually hit in their hometowns, despite high chances of being identified in local papers.

``These are drug users trying to feed their drug habit,'' he said. ``People who are on drugs are not doing analyses.''

Anyone with information about the robber is asked to call Robbins at [phone].

THE LOCATIONS

Nine banks throughout the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys have been targeted by robbers in 1997. They include:

Jan. 15: Home Savings, 1140 W. Ave. K, Lancaster.

Jan. 27: Downey Savings, 1000 E. Ave. J, Lancaster.

March 10: Edwards Federal Credit Union, 44288 N. 10th St. West, Lancaster.

March 12: Home Savings, 42024 N. 50th West, Quartz Hill.

March 17: Great Western Bank, 16520 W. Soledad Canyon Road, Canyon Country.

March 18: Downey Savings, 2831 W. Ave. L, Lancaster.

March 25: Great Western Bank, 2535 E. Avenue S, Palmdale.

March 27: Great Western Bank, 2435 E. Avenue S, Palmdale.

March 31: Valencia National Bank, 18539 Soledad Canyon Road, Canyon Country.

CAPTION(S):

2 Boxes, Photo

Box: (1) THE LOCATIONS (See text)

(2--Ran only in SAC edition) THE STATISTICS

Photo: (Composite drawing) SUSPECT