San Francisco police arrest serial bank robbery suspect
SAN FRANCICSO -- A 34-year-old San Francisco man has been arrested in connection with nine May bank robberies staged at branches located in the city's Richmond and Sunset districts.
Investigators said the robberies began on May 3rd and followed a similar pattern. The suspect enters a bank, hands a teller a note and demands money.
In five of the nine incidents the tellers complied. The suspect successfully stole undetermined amounts of cash and then fled the scene.
Through the course of the investigation, police obtained images of the suspect from surveillance footage and disseminated a crime alert to SFPD officers.
On May 9th at approximately 3:30 p.m., officers responded to the 2000 block of Irving Street for a report of another bank robbery.
When they arrived, the officers were met by the victim and witnesses who stated the suspect had handed the teller a note demanding cash. The suspect stole cash and then fled the scene on a bicycle.
At approximately 4:00 p.m., officers observed a man on Geary Street that matched the description of the bank robbery suspect.
As the officers attempted to detain the suspect, a brief pursuit ensued. Officers from the Taraval Station responded to the scene and assisted to place the suspect -- identified as Julien Lee -- into custody.
Investigators determined probable cause to arrest the suspect, , for the above listed incidents and placed him under arrest on scene.
Lee was transported to San Francisco County Jail where he was booked for four counts of second-degree robbery, four counts of second-degree attempted robbery, eight counts of second-degree burglary, resisting arrest and outstanding warrants out of San Francisco for robbery, burglary, and grand theft.
The bank robberies occurred at the following locations on the following dates:
- May 3, 2023 on the 200 block of Winston Drive
- May 5, 2023 on the 2000 block of Irving Street
- May 8, 2023 on the 6100 block of Geary Boulevard
- May 8, 2023 on the 600 block of 8th Street
- May 8, 2023 on the 300 block of Clement Street
- May 8, 2023 on the 1800 block of Irving Street
- May 9, 2023 on the 2600 block of Ocean Avenue
- May 9, 2023 on the 2600 block of Ocean Avenue
- May 9, 2023 on the 2000 block of Irving Street
While an arrest has been made, these incidents remain open investigations. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department SFPD 24-hour-tip line at 1-415-575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous.