On Oct.14 at 1:12 p.m., a man handed one of the tellers a threatening note demanding money and claiming he had a gun, according to San Jose Police Department spokesmen Steven Dixon. The teller gave the man an unclosed amount of cash, and the man fled the scene. He did not appeared to be armed.

The teller immediately called the police, who arrived at the bank minutes later, but they were unable to locate the man, who is still at large.

Although it was a busy time of the day in the bank, Dixon said, most people don't realize that a robbery is taking place because in situations like this nothing is visible to the public. Dixon described these situations as "quiet bank robberies."

The police also believe that the Wells Fargo robbery is tied into another bank robbery in Fremont, which occurred earlier in the day at 10:15 a.m. at the Bank of the West at 5120 Mowry Ave.

SJPD public information officer Gina Teeporten said the robber in that Fremont incident had also handed the teller a threatening note and matched the description of the man who robbed the Wells Fargo branch.

According to police, the individual is described as an African American male in his 20s, about 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing around 225 pounds. He was wearing a gray polo shirt with a black collar.

Fremont Police Department detective Bill Veteran confirmed that the two robberies were committed by the same individual, who was caught on surveillance tape. Veteran added that the man had a goatee and a shaved head, was wearing black sunglasses and had on a pair of black sweatpants with a white stripe down the side.

The circumstances of the crime in Fremont were similar, Veteran said; the man entered the bank and passed a note to the teller, who relinquished the money. As in the Wells Fargo robbery, the witnesses saw no weapon.

Both police departments are collaborating to track down the man.

Anyone with information regarding the crime should contact the San Jose Police Department robbery unit at 408.277.4166.