Two Los Angeles men are facing charges after deputies say they tailed a bank customer across Thousand Oaks, then smashed into a parked car and made off with $14,000 in cash in what investigators are calling a "bank‑jugging" theft. The pair were tracked down and arrested in San Dimas on July 9 and were scheduled to appear in court. One suspect is being held on $50,000 bail, the other on $20,000.
According to investigators, the case started June 3 outside a convenience store on Avenida De Los Arboles. Deputies say the victim had been followed for roughly two miles from a bank on Janss Road near Moorpark Road, and when the customer went inside the shop, one of the suspects allegedly broke a car window and grabbed the cash that had just been withdrawn. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office identified the men as 45‑year‑old Francisco Javier Nieto Mosquera and 44‑year‑old Ricardo De Jesus Melendez Rodriguez, and authorities say detectives located them in San Dimas on July 9. Deputies also told reporters the pair may be linked to similar thefts in Torrance, and said officers recovered golf clubs and jewelry belonging to a Torrance victim during the arrests, according to NBC Los Angeles.
How the thefts typically play out
Law enforcement describes "bank‑jugging" as a scheme in which suspects linger near banks or ATMs, watch for customers pulling out cash, then follow them to a second location where the money is stolen, often after the victim leaves it in an unattended vehicle that is then broken into. The pattern has surfaced in Ventura County recently, with deputies making arrests in a Camarillo bank‑jugging case in early June, per local reporting by KEYT. Deputies say suspects often use rental cars and move between counties, which can force agencies to team up to crack the cases.
Police warnings for customers
Ventura County authorities are urging anyone who pulls out cash at a bank to stash it out of sight immediately, avoid leaving money or valuables in unattended vehicles and stay alert when coming and going from financial institutions. If you think someone is following you from a bank, deputies advise driving to a safe, busy public place or a police station and calling 911. Investigators say the Thousand Oaks case remains active as they work to determine whether the two suspects are tied to any additional incidents, according to NBC Los Angeles.
