A 25-year-old Ocean Beach man charged with two bank robberies was freed from jail Sept. 17 on a $100,000 property bond on condition he live with his parents, adhere to a 6 p.m. curfew and continuously wear a GPS monitoring device. Colter Stanley Johnson was arrested Sept. 2 near the intersection of Narragansett Avenue and Chatsworth Boulevard following a robbery of the Chase Bank branch in Poway. Investigators said more than $4,150 was stolen. Johnson was subsequently charged with robbing the Comerica Bank at 3361 Rosecrans St. on July 12. Nearly $4,000 was stolen in that robbery, according to court records. Johnson pleaded not guilty to both bank robberies. His attorney, James Pokorny, arranged for a judge to see more than 60 favorable letters written on behalf of Johnson as part of a bail review, including a letter from a roommate in Ocean Beach. Until his release Sept. 17, Johnson had been held without bail. U.S. District Court Judge Nita Stormes set bail at $100,000, but ordered Johnson to live with his parents in Ramona. One of Johnson’s former employers offered him a job, and he would be free to work there before 6 p.m., Stormes said The FBI said Johnson is a suspect in a third bank robbery in the “Skateboard Bandit” series in the Torrey Highlands area, but so far he is charged with only two robberies. In the Poway bank holdup, the robber lifted his shirt to show the handle of a gun to a teller and demanded money. He then reportedly escaped on a skateboard. A witness followed the robber and saw him leave in a white SUV, writing down the license plate number. The car was registered to Johnson and his mother, according to court records. Johnson is expected to return to court on Oct. 15 for a trial-setting date.
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