'Hypnotist Bandit' Strikes Again ... This Time at a Bank Building that Also Houses the FBI

Originally posted at 4:40 p.m. July 1, 2014. Edited to add photo, details.

The 28-year-old Los Angeles man believed to be the “Hypnotist Bandit” who robbed a Manhattan Beach bank last week was charged today for his latest suspected robbery Monday in Ventura.

It wasn’t the smartest place in the world for him to choose: That particular Chase Bank is on the ground floor that houses the FBI’s Ventura Resident Agency.

FBI agents saw Hernandez leave the bank after the robbery, pursued him for about a half-mile, then apprehended him without further incident, according to an agency press release.

Agents were assisted by a detective with the California Highway Patrol who is assigned to a Federal Bureau of Investigation task force in Ventura, and detectives with the Ventura Police Department. 

Hernandez was held overnight at the Ventura Police Department and turned over to federal custody this morning.  Hernandez will be in court this afternoon for an initial appearance in United States District Court in Los Angeles. 

Although Hernandez was charged only with the Ventura robbery, federal authorities said investigations were continuing into the Los Angeles County heists.

City News Service contributed to this report.