LAGUNA HILLS : Bank-Robbery Suspect Arrested

A bank-robbery suspect was arrested Monday after he tossed a load of cash out of his car when he spotted a sheriff’s deputy coming toward him, authorities said.

Todd Jeffrey Ensworth, 24, of Laguna Hills was stopped and arrested near the San Diego Freeway south of Alicia Parkway, authorities said. He is suspected of robbing a Laguna Hills bank Monday afternoon and of attempting to rob a Mission Viejo bank that morning. Ensworth was taken to the Orange County Jail, authorities said, and the money was recovered. The amount of cash was not disclosed.

“Ensworth was identified by employees of both banks as the robber,” Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

In the Laguna Hills robbery, Olson said, a man entered the World Savings & Loan branch at 25632 Alicia Parkway about 12:40 p.m and gave a teller a note demanding money. The man, who did not appear to have a weapon, left on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Twenty minutes later, a sheriff’s deputy spotted a 1984 Ford Mustang driving from a residential area on the wrong side of the road, Olson said. “When the driver saw (the deputy)”, Olson said, “he threw a pack of money out the window.”

In the Mission Viejo incident, which happened just after 11 a.m., Olson said, a man entered the Far West Savings branch at 28251 Marguerite Parkway and gave a teller a note demanding money. However, the man “appeared to become very nervous and left the bank without any money,” he said.