Marin Bank Robbery Suspect Tied to Series of North Bay Robberies

A man who robbed a Westamerica Bank near Mill Valley on Wednesday afternoon may be the man responsible for other recent bank robberies in the North Bay, a Marin County sheriff's lieutenant said.

One month ago, Rohnert Park Patch reported on at least three robberies in Sonoma County, including one at the U.S. Bank inside the Safeway on Feb. 14, as well as a robbery in Santa Rosa just 17 minutes earlier.

In that case, U.S. Bank offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect in any U.S. Bank robberies.

A spokesman at the Rohnert Park Public Safety said that "the investigation is on-going," and confirmed that they were looking for a serial criminal.

In Mill Valley yesterday, at 3:17 p.m., a man walked into the branch at 1222 Redwood Hwy., handed a teller a note demanding money, received an undisclosed amount of money from the teller and walked out without incident, Sheriff's Lt. Jamie Scardina said. 

No one was injured during the brief sequence, and bank employees did not see a weapon on the suspect, he added.

The suspect was last seen getting into a mid-2000s tan Honda heading south on Redwood Highway, Scardina said. He is described as a white man in his late 20s with a large build and sporting facial hair below his bottom lip. He was wearing a black sweatshirt, tan shorts, a red and black San Francisco 49ers hat and sunglasses.

Although this is the fourth time a Westamerica Bank branch in the North Bay has been robbed in 2013, other banks have been hit too.

On Jan. 4, a,  and fled on foot after receiving cash, according to San Rafael Police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher. No weapon was seen or mentioned in that incident.

Less than a week later on Jan. 10, the Westamerica branch in Novato's Ignacio area was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money and the suspect fled on foot. No one was hurt and no weapon was used, Novato police Lt. Jennifer Welch said at the time.

And on Jan. 25, a man walked in to the Westamerica Bank at 1 Mitchell Blvd. in North San Rafael, demanded money from the bank teller and then fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to San Rafael Police Sgt. Roy Leon.

On February 1, a man in a white sweatshirt but a similar description robbed a Chase Bank branch inside a Raley's supermarket in Santa Rosa, according to the Press Democrat.

A man with a similar description and modus operandi robbed a Westamerica in Middleton on February 28, according to the Press Democrat.

Anyone wishing to give crime tips can call the Marin Sheriff’s Office at (415) 479-2311. In Sonoma County, anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Robert Reynolds, (707) 543-3670.

To remain anonymous and possibly become eligible for a cash reward call Bay Area Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.

Bay City News Service and other sources contributed to this report.

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