Palm Desert bank robbed, police search for suspect

Palm Desert police are searching for a man who may have held up the First California Bank branch at the corner of Fred Waring Drive and Washington Street on Friday.

Police were alerted by the bank’s holdup alarm just before noon, said spokesman Angel Ramos.

Officers arrived, set up a perimeter and launched a search for the suspect who was described on police radio as having dirty blonde hair and in his 20s.

The suspect, who handed demand notes to tellers, left without money at the first bank and netted an undisclosed sum from the second, Ramos said. No one was hurt.

The suspect was described as a white man in his mid 20s to early 30s, with a thin build and long hair combed to the side, wearing a white T-shirt and tan shorts.

No one was injured in the robbery, according to Ramos.

He said the suspect was also wanted in connection with the attempted robbery of the US Bank branch inside the Ralph’s grocery store.

Anyone with information about his identity or whereabouts was asked to call the sheriff’s department at (760) 836-1600 or (760) 863-8990.