2 Bank Robberies in an Hour; 1 Yields Suspects

A young Anaheim woman is accused of robbing a bank Saturday while her infant nieces, ages 1 and 3, were ensconced in a getaway car being driven by an accomplice.

Irvine police said Gina Christina Everitt, 25, was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and child endangerment. Charlotte Makitha Brookings, 22, was identified by witnesses as the getaway car’s driver who remained outside the bank, but she too was arrested on the same robbery charge. The two children, who are Everitt’s nieces, were taken into protective custody.

Irvine police said they received a 911 call shortly after 11 a.m. reporting a robbery at the World Savings Bank on the 3800 block of Michelson Drive.

A woman wearing a ski mask and who claimed to have a gun robbed several tellers, said Sgt. Phil Povey. She fled in a gold, four-door sedan driven by another woman.

A police officer spotted the vehicle driving quickly away from the scene and stopped it. Police detained the two women and found a large amount of cash and a ski mask on the floor, and the two children in the back seat, Povey said.

The Irvine robbery followed by only one hour another bank robbery in neighboring Costa Mesa, where two masked men armed with handguns took an unknown amount of money just before 10 a.m. from a Bank of America in the 2700 block of Harbor Boulevard, said Lt. Ron Smith.

The two men ordered patrons to the floor before taking the cash. They fled the scene in a stolen car, which was abandoned a short distance away, Smith said. “That was the last we saw of them and the money.”

The robbers are described as two stocky men of unknown age, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9, one Hispanic and one black. Smith said anyone with information about the case should call the Costa Mesa Police Department at (714) 754-5205.

The FBI’s Santa Ana office is assisting with both cases.