RIVERSIDE, CA — A 39-year-old man accused of trying to hold up a Riverside bank must stand trial for burglary and attempted grand theft, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Myles Johnson of Riverside was arrested last month following a Riverside Police Department investigation.
At the end of a preliminary hearing Wednesday, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Teresa Estrada Mullaney found there was sufficient evidence to bound Johnson over for trial on the felony charges.
The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Oct. 1 at the Riverside Hall of Justice and ordered that the defendant remain held in lieu of $70,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail.
The botched robbery occurred just before 2 p.m. on Aug. 27 at the Bank of America branch in the 10200 block of Magnolia Avenue, near Tyler Street, on the west end of the city, according to police.
Detective Steve Espinosa alleged that Johnson walked up to a teller and slipped her a note, "demanding money," though the specific amount wasn't mentioned.
The victim gave the defendant something in return, but it wasn't the cash he allegedly wanted, and he immediately left the premises, driving away before patrol officers converged on the location, Espinosa said.
No one was injured.
The police spokesman said Robbery-Homicide Unit investigators obtained images from bank cameras and other evidence that quickly pointed to Johnson as the alleged bandit.
Officers were directed to the location where he might be, and about three hours later they spotted his car in the area of La Sierra Avenue and Pierce Street, where a traffic stop was initiated.
"Evidence related to the attempted robbery was located," Espinosa said, adding that Johnson was taken into custody without incident.
He has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
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