Man holds up bank in downtown Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach Police arrested Robert Ackerman of Arkansas in connection with a downtown bank robbery Monday. Photo courtesy of MBPD
by Andrea Ruse
Police arrested a man Monday suspected of pretending to use a gun to rob a downtown Manhattan Beach bank, according to authorities.
Robert Ackerman, 45, a transient from Hope, Arkansas, entered Chase Bank on the corner of Manhattan Beach Blvd. and Manhattan Ave. a few minutes before 11 a.m. and approached a teller with his hand in his pocket and demanded the employee put cash in a bag.
“He put his finger in his pocket and insinuated that he had a gun,” said Manhattan Beach Police Detective Sgt. Brian Brown. “Then he took a bag full of cash.”
Brown said the suspect made off with $2,600 before being spotted only moments later less than a mile away in the 1500 block of Highland.
MBPD Detective Jason Knickerbocker recognized the suspect and made a pedestrian stop, before arresting the man.
“He went without a fight,” Brown said.
The FBI aided MBPD in their investigation of the scene, which Brown said is typical of bank robberies. He said that Ackerman could be tried at either the state or federal levels.
“He’ll have a hard time if the feds pick him up,” Brown said.
While bank employees and customers were shaken up, no one was injured, according to police.
“No force was involved,” Brown said.
Ackerman is being held in Torrance Superior Courthouse on $100,000 bail. Police will file the case with the district attorney today. ER