Behind the Badge
The Tustin PD has arrested a suspect in two bank robberies that occurred within minutes of each other Tuesday afternoon.
Robert Peter Thomas, 48, last known address San Francisco, was booked for the May 9 bank robberies, the Tustin PD said in a May 11 news release. The prosecution will be handled federally.
At 3:07 p.m. May 9, the TPD received a call of a bank robbery at Citibank, 18232 Irvine Blvd.
The suspect entered the bank and handed the teller a note requesting money. The teller did not give the suspect any money and the suspect left the bank.
The bank called the police to report the incident.
As officers responded to the Citibank, they noticed a person matching the suspect’s description. Officers stopped the subject to investigate any involvement in the bank robbery.
While the officers were contacting the possible suspect, the Tustin PD received a call of a second robbery that just occurred at Bank of the West, located nearby at 701 E. First St.
The suspect from the Bank of the West robbery matched the description of the suspect from the Citibank robbery.
In both robberies, a note was used and although there was no loss in the Citibank robbery, an undisclosed amount of cash was taken in the second robbery.
Witnesses from both banks positively identified Thomas as the suspect in the robberies.
Representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Bank Robbery Apprehension Team responded to the TPD to assist with the investigation, the news release said.
