Full Notification

Tuesday morning, deputies from Marina Del Rey Sheriff's Station responded to Bank of America on Admiralty Way, to a call of a bank robbery. A male suspect had robbed the bank by using a demand note. He fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash prior to the arrival of responding deputies.

The bank robber is described as a Male Hispanic, 18-20 years old, 5’07-5’08, 140-145 lbs, with long dark hair. He was wearing a black and brown striped beanie, a black and blue plaid long sleeve shirt, blue sweat pants, and white tennis shoes.

During the subsequent investigation, deputies and agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation questioned witnesses in the bank. Several witnesses, including Suspect Stephen Mullen, left the bank after providing information to the investigators.

Within minutes, an alert citizen notified deputies that the citizen had just seen a suspicious male in the parking lot, who had discarded a stack of money after it exploded in his pocket. She provided a description and license plate of the vehicle the male fled in.

Sheriff's deputies immediately responded to the registered owner’s address in the 13900 block of Marquesas Way, Marina Del Rey, where they detained a man later identified as Stephen Mullen.

During subsequent questioning, investigators determined Suspect Mullen had located a decoy “bait money” dye pack that had been discarded by the bank robber, just outside the front door of the bank. He placed the bait money in his pocket and re-entered the bank when responding deputies arrived. He made no mention of this to the deputies or investigators on the scene. When Suspect Mullen left the bank, the dye pack exploded in his pocket. He discarded it in the parking lot and fled to his residence.

Deputies took Suspect Mullen into custody and booked him at Marina Del Rey Sheriff’s station for Tampering with Evidence. The investigation is on-going, and it does not appear that suspect Mullen was involved in the initial robbery of the bank. He is being held in lieu of $5,000.00 bail.

Anyone with information about this bank robbery is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Marina Del Rey Station detectives at (310) 482-6000.

If you prefer to provide information ANONYMOUSLY, you can call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

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Guillermina M. Saldaña
Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
323-267-4800
www.lasd.org

Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff