Industrial Park Firm Robbed of $4,000 in Computer Equipment

OXNARD — Two armed men wearing ski masks stormed into American Machine Works in a north Oxnard industrial park Thursday and stole $4,000 worth of computer equipment from the company’s offices, police said.

The takeover-style robbery occurred about 5:30 p.m. at 208 Bernoulli Circle, Oxnard Police Officer Tim Kelley said. The suspects remained at-large Thursday night.

“We’re getting the impression that it was definitely something that was planned,” Kelley said. The company “was probably cased.”

The business, which includes an office and a warehouse where industrial equipment is manufactured, was about to close when the robbery occurred, Kelley said. The robbers entered through an unlocked door.

The owner, an 86-year-old man, and a male employee, 36, were forced to lie face-down on the office floor.

The younger man suffered a minor head injury when one of the robbers struck him with a handgun, Kelley said. The victim, who was not hospitalized, had apparently asked one of the robbers a question, Kelley said.