Teenager Arrested In San Leandro Bank Robbery; Suspect In Other Heists
SAN LEANDRO (CBS SF) - A 16-year-old boy suspected in several bank robberies in the East Bay was arrested Wednesday for allegedly robbing a San Leandro bank, police said.
The suspect, whose name is not being released because of his age, first tried unsuccessfully at about 11 a.m. Wednesday to rob a Chase Bank at 699 Lewelling Blvd., police said.
He walked in and handed the teller a note demanding money, but the teller did not comply. The suspect then ran from the bank.
While police were responding to the attempted robbery, a suspect matching the Chase Bank suspect's description went into a Bank of the West at 1601 Washington Ave. and again used a note to demand money, police said.
In both instances the culprit was described as a black male between 16 and 18 years old who is 5 feet 5 inches tall with a thin build and was wearing a black beanie and black jacket.
The suspect received an unspecified amount of cash and ran south from the bank. Witnesses then saw him get into a getaway vehicle, which headed south on Washington Avenue, according to police.
Several robberies had already been committed in San Leandro and Oakland over the previous week, so San Leandro police officers saturated the downtown area of the city in response to the bank robbery, police said.
A detective saw the getaway vehicle driving on southbound Washington Avenue, and marked units responded and tried to stop it.
The getaway driver allegedly led police on a short pursuit until the vehicle became disabled near San Leandro Street and 105th Avenue in Oakland.
When the car stopped, a passenger in the front seat—who had not been visible to officers because the seat was reclined—ran north from the vehicle onto nearby railroad tracks, police said.
Officers detained the driver while a detective ran after the passenger, who was stopped while trying to jump over a fence into a neighbor's backyard.
The passenger was identified as the unnamed 16-year-old, and the driver was identified as Germaine Ramsey.
Police believe the teen was involved in several bank robberies and attempted bank robberies in Oakland and San Leandro. The investigation into those cases are ongoing.
Ramsey was arrested on suspicion of evading police, the attempted robbery at the Chase Bank, and the robbery at the Bank of the West.
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