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Bank robbers extend spree to Cupertino
By Jeff Kearns
Two men in hooded sweatshirts and surgical masks robbed a Bay View Bank branch at 19620 Stevens Creek Blvd. on Feb. 28, making off with about $30,000.
Law enforcement officials compared the method of the robbery to those of three heists in Sunnyvale last month.
Santa Clara County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Hirokawa said one of the men told employees to get on the floor, then a second man entered and took cash from teller drawers behind the counter and from the vault. At least one of the men had a handgun, witnesses said.
At the time of the robbery, no customers were inside the bank, which was just closing for the day. No employees were reported injured.
A sheriff's canine unit tracked the suspects to an alley behind the bank, where the trail went cold. Hirokawa said investigators think that may be where the suspects had a get away car parked.
"The FBI is saying that they believe the men are responsible for as many as seven other bank robberies in the Bay Area," Hirokawa said. "They're also warning that these guys are well-versed in armed robberies and should be considered armed and dangerous."
Hirokawa said investigators believe the same suspects may be responsible for bank heists dating back to Dec. 13, including Union Banks in Sunnyvale and Oakland, another Bay View Bank in San Leandro and a California Savings and Loan in Fremont.
In Sunnyvale, robbers hit a Bank of America once and a Union Bank twice during a two-week period. Both banks are on Arques Avenue near Highway 101. The suspects in all three robberies were described as two black men, 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet tall, wearing ski masks. Sunnyvale police said they alerted other banks in the city that robbers were operating in the area.
A spokesperson for the FBI, which investigates all bank robberies, did not return repeated phone calls.
The first suspect in the Cupertino robbery is described as a black man, in his 20s, with a thin build, about 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall. The second suspect is described as a black man, in his 20s or 30s, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall. Witnesses said both suspects were wearing black-hooded sweatshirts, black pants, white gloves and white surgical masks.
Anyone who may have information on the robbery is asked to call sheriff's Detective Bob Dixon at 408.867.9715.
Sunnyvale reporter Sam Scott contributed to this report.
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Cupertino, California Since 1947
