Police search for Livermore robbery suspect in North Oakland, lock down Tech
on February 3, 2011
As of 7:00 pm on Thursday, OPD spokeswoman Holly Joshi said Oakland and Livermore police officers are still searching for an armed man who robbed a Livermore Bank of America earlier that afternoon and fled to the Oakland/Piedmont area.
On Thursday afternoon, the Livermore Police Department beginning receiving 911 calls from customers inside the Bank of America calling to report an armed robbery. Witnesses reported that a suspect entered the bank and waited until he got to the front of the line when he drew a gun toward a teller.
Officers set up a perimeter around the bank, then received information that the suspect was heading westbound on the 580 freeway toward North Oakland.
At 4:30 p.m. police officers blocked off 41st Street in between Gilbert Street and Broadway after receiving witness reports that the suspected robber was seen in the area. Officers told residents they would not be allowed to enter their homes until they were finished surveying the scene.
Officers could be seen scouring the alleyways between and behind apartments. One was assisted by a police dog; another carried a camera.
Down the road on Broadway, Oakland Tech High School students remained under lock-down for about 15 minutes after school officials received news that an armed man was roaming the streets.
The suspect, depicted by Bank of America surveillance cameras and described by bank tellers as a white, six-feet tall, approximately 180 pound male with Hispanic features, managed to escape with an undisclosed amount of money. There were no reported injuries.
At about 5 p.m. officers gave North Oakland residents the all clear to enter their homes and apartments. A couple of residents at 41st and
Broadway asked officers to escort them inside the building. “I have to go home, but I don’t want to,” one woman said, adding that her apartment building had been burglarized six times over the last couple of months. “This guy is still out there somewhere.”
At 5:30 pm, Livermore Police Department Lieutenant Lance Bye said that police had not yet caught the suspect.
At 7:00 pm, OPD spokeswoman Holly Joshi confirmed that the suspect remained at large.
As of Friday, 9:00 am, Livermore Police Department Lieutenant Matt Sarsfiel said that there is no update as to the whereabouts of the suspect. “The FBI showed up yesterday,” he said, adding that “We are going to conclude our investigation.” The Livermore and Oakland police departments have been getting photos of the crime in progress out to the media, but have said that there are no calls with leads coming in.
Oakland North will continue to follow this story.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that Oakland Tech had been locked down for approximately 45 minutes, rather than 15. We regret the error.
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- Oakland and Livermore police officers searching for a bank robber check the alleyway near an apartment building before deeming it safe for residents to enter.
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- Residents are told that police are searching for a robbery suspect in the area near 41st Street and Broadway.
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- Suspect from surveillance cameras during a bank robbery at Bank of America in Livermore, Calif. (Photo courtesy of Livermore Police)
7 Comments
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Broadway does not have ‘Ave.’ as it’s designation
You’re right. Thanks!
I go to Oakland Tech. The lockdown was announced at 3:27 and we were released at around 3:45.
if this were a DUI he would have gotten caught by livermore PD.
This man was simply getting our tax money back from BOFA. Remember the 2008 financial “bailouts”? Banks made stupid decisions, lost THEIR money, and used OUR money to make themselves whole. (Which they still aren’t, but that’s another story.)
Not cool using force though. Hm…
Yeah, i was hoping that he left the money behind in my building..i could’ve used some of that bank bailout myself!
Btw..I believe they were in our area because of a tracking chip in the bank’s dye pack. Suspect dropped it in our dumpster.
[…] As we reported Thursday, Oakland Tech went on lock-down briefly in the afternoon when reports came to them from police that an armed robber was suspected of roaming the nearby streets. The man police were chasing had robbed a bank in Livermore earlier in the afternoon and then fled to Oakland. Police quickly sounded the all clear for the blocks surrounding Tech and the lock-down was lifted. As of 7 p.m. Thursday night, police spokeswoman Holly Joshi said, the suspect remained at large. Read the complete story by Nicole Jones here. […]