Bank Robbery May Be Linked to Spree in San Mateo, San Francisco Counties

By Bay City News Service

The FBI is investigating whether a group who robbed a series of banks in San Francisco and San Mateo counties in the past few months may have struck again last week, an agency spokesman said Monday.

A group of at least three men is believed to have robbed a bank in Millbrae and another in San Francisco on June 3, as well as a bank in the city's Sunset District on April 19.

There were multiple bank robberies in San Francisco again last week, and FBI spokesman Peter Lee said Monday that at least one of the robberies is believed to be linked to the same group.

"It seems as though and is suspected that it's the same takeover bank robbery crew," Lee said. He said more details about the investigation will be released later this week.

San Francisco police said bank robberies in the city last week included one at about 1:35 p.m. Thursday near Geary Boulevard and 24th Avenue in the Richmond District.

In that case, four suspects described as black men wearing hooded sweatshirts and scarves over their faces robbed the bank at gunpoint, with one suspect hitting a bank employee in the head, according to police.

Another robbery was reported at about 1:05 p.m. Wednesday in the 2600 block of Ocean Avenue in the city's Lakeside neighborhood, where two suspects jumped over the bank counter and grabbed cash from teller drawers before fleeing on foot, police said.

In the robberies earlier this year -- two on June 3 at the Cathay Bank at 1095 El Camino Real in Millbrae and at the Metropolitan Bank at 1351 Powell St. in San Francisco, and one on April 19 at a Wells Fargo at 725 Irving St. -- the suspects were armed and also jumped over teller counters to grab cash, FBI officials said. 

In June, the FBI released surveillance photos of the suspects that were taken during the Millbrae and Irving Street bank heists.

Anyone with information about the suspects, who should be considered armed and dangerous, should call their nearest FBI office or 911.

Calls in the San Francisco area can be made 24 hours a day to (415) 553-7400 and tips can also be submitted online to tips.fbi.gov.

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