Woman who held up Garden Grove bank for $500 arrested short time later at her home

A woman who held up a bank Tuesday while brandishing a fake weapon, making off with $500, was arrested by Garden Grove Police officers at her home in Anaheim. The suspect also was arrested in connection with a second bank heist two years ago.

Mary Lynn Taber, 55, was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 9 and booked at Orange County Jail in Santa Ana.

Taber used her own car for the 10:59 a.m. heist Feb. 9 at Farmers and Merchants Bank, 11400 Garden Grove Blvd. and, based on a description of the car, police were able to develop a license plate number and found the suspect just after noon at her home and arrested her.

The toy gun. GGPD photo.

Taber was positively identified by bank employees as being responsible for the robbery, according to a GGPD news release.

Officers retrieved from Taber’s car at her home, at 890 S. Beach Blvd., Anaheim, a replica rifle, according to a GGPD news release.

The stolen money was deposited by Taber at an unrelated bank and check cashing business in which Taber had an outstanding loan she was making payments on, according to the news release.

Tuesday’s incident began with a 911 call from the bank about a robbery that had just occurred. Witnesses described the suspect entering the bank, displaying her rifle, demanding money and then fleeing with the loot.

The suspect was described as a Caucasian between 40 and 50 years old, 5 feet 2 inches and 250 pounds, and wearing a pink scarf and dark sunglasses. Witnesses saw her leave the bank in her 1998 black Saturn four-door.

The suspect’s vehicle. GGPD photo

After GGPD detectives arrested Taber on Tuesday, they recognized her and her unique disguise and toy weapon used and matched her to another bank robbery that occurred at a US Bank at 12112 Valley View, Garden Grove, on Jan. 8, 2014, at almost the same time of day.

Bank employees there described the same weapon being used by the suspect and same unique disguise. Detectives developed enough evidence to arrest Taber for both bank robberies and booked her into Orange County Jail pending arraignment.