It took more than a quarter of a century, but a man who killed a bank teller in the Conejo Valley is headed to prison.
In April of 1997, two men robbed a bank on Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks. During the robbery, two employees were forced to their knees and handcuffed.
One of the men shot one of the employees. Monica Leech died at the scene. The Camarillo woman left behind her husband and four children.
The case went cold for decades. But, DNA evidence helped Ventura County Sheriff’s detectives identify Ken Ray James of San Bernardino as the gunman in the killing.
He was arrested in 2023. In May of this year, James pleaded guilty to the murder. Now, the 58-year-old man has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.
