Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Valencia Bank’s Suspicious Package Brings Bomb Squad

SANTA CLARITA — A sheriff’s bomb squad team Wednesday blew up a suspicious package mailed to Valencia National Bank. It turned out to be apparently only a wall-mounted air freshener.

Why the package was sent to the bank, or by whom, was not known.

Bank officials called the Santa Clarita station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at 4:15 p.m. after receiving the small, red plastic box inside a package commonly used for bank materials.

“It was obviously mangled and obviously the contents were taken out and whatever this is (was put) in its place,” said bank President Bob Manley. Manley took the box outside and placed it in a car repossessed by the bank that was parked in the westernmost corner of the parking lot.

“It obviously was something that wasn’t meant to be in that box and it wasn’t meant to be in the bank,” he said. “I figured it was probably good to get it out of the building.”

The building--which houses the bank, city offices and other businesses--was not evacuated, although Valencia Boulevard was closed for a few hours between the building’s entrance and Magic Mountain Parkway.