Two young women were charged with burglary after they allegedly stole merchandise from the Banana Republic store on University Avenue and possibly stole merchandise from other clothing stores outside of Los Gatos. The women have since been released after posting bail for the Jan. 6 arrest.

Two days earlier, a man had robbed the Comerica Bank on N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

According to police, the man entered the bank at 2:41 p.m. and gave a teller a note that said he had a firearm and gave instructions for the teller to give him money. After the teller did so, the man left "on foot, on Santa Cruz Avenue, towards the parking lot," said Los Gatos­Monte Sereno police Sgt. Tim Morgan.

Police could not disclose the amount of money that was taken.

The suspect was described as a white male with light-colored hair, approximately 35 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 180 to 200 pounds.

The description of the suspect was similar to that of a man who robbed the N. Santa Cruz Bank of the West in October; as a result, police are investigating if it is the same suspect in both crimes. Morgan said, however, that the Comerica robber was not described as having a scar below the left side of his lower lip, as the Bank of the West robber was.

In the Banana Republic burglary case, Daly City resident Nina Young, 22, and Oakland resident Melissa Quinteros, 19, who is pregnant, were arrested after police found sensors in the store and the corresponding items—with rips where the sensors would have been—in Quinteros' backpack. There were no receipts on either of the women.

Morgan said that at 6:10 p.m. on Jan. 6 police received a call about "suspicious people" near the Gap store on University Avenue. The caller said there were two women, one of them pregnant, and a man who had since moved on to Banana Republic.

Patrol officers located the women and found five Banana Republic shirts in the backpack, along with the removed sensors inside the store. Young and Quinteros told police that an aunt had dropped them off, but officers found car keys on one of the suspects. The corresponding vehicle—a rental car—was parked nearby, at the red curb next to a fire hydrant.

Inside the car, police found more than 100 pieces of clothing, worth more than $5,000. Morgan said the clothing—much of it women's underwear—was from Gap, Baby Gap, Gap Body, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. There were no receipts for any of the items, and some of the merchandise was still wrapped in plastic.

"We are investigating the possibility that the clothing was stolen," Morgan said.

While police spoke to Young and Quinteros, Capt. Duino Giordano confronted the man who had been seen with the two women. The man was released. "Apparently, he didn't know they were going in there and stealing things," Morgan said.

Young and Quinteros were arrested but quickly posted the $5,000 bail.

According to Morgan, there may be additional charges for Young and Quinteros, pending results of a police investigation. Morgan plans to continue the investigaton by questioning Bay Area malls to determine which stores the items found in the car are from.