Willow Glen Resident

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Willow Glen robbery may be the last, after police arrest suspect

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

A string of robberies stemming back to the beginning of March may have finally ended with the arrest of a San Jose man on May 1.

John Kent, 58, was charged with five counts of robbery. Police say he may have been involved in the March 9 robbery at the Bank of the West on S. First Street, the March 23 robbery at the Bank of the West at 2210 Business Circle, the April 10 robbery at the Bank of the West at 1590 Hamilton Ave., the April 24 robbery at the Bank of the West at 3081 McKee Road, and the May 1 robbery at the Washington Mutual on Lincoln Avenue.

Police credit a Willow Glen resident with helping to track down Kent.

According to San Jose police spokeswoman Gina Teeporten, a man, dubbed the "Oklahoma Bandit," entered the Washington Mutual Bank at 1442 Lincoln Ave. at 4:42 p.m. and passed a note to the teller saying he had a gun and demanding money.

The moniker "Oklahoma Bandit" resulted from one witness who said the robber was wearing a baseball cap with the word Oklahoma on it. Witnesses to four other robberies also told police they heard the man speaking with an accent.

During the May 1 incident, the teller gave the robber an undisclosed amount of cash, while six other customers waited in line.

The suspect then left the bank from the rear and got into a 1986 brown Jaguar which, according to police, was driven by a woman. The pair fled, but a Willow Glen resident took down the car's license plate number and notified police.

The police were able to track the car to a residence in San Jose. They spotted Kent and the brown Jaguar parked near San Pedro Street.

Both Kent and the woman were apprehended at the scene without incident, police said.

The female driver was questioned and released. The cash from the May 1 Washington Mutual Bank robbery was recovered from an undisclosed location. Officers did not find a gun.