(CA) Armed resident helps police capture bank robber 08-31-03

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Bank robbery suspect is shot
By Elizabeth Hume — Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Saturday, August 30, 2003

A Friday evening bank robbery ended in a Fair Oaks back yard with one
suspect shot after confronting an armed homeowner, another suspect
arrested and money floating in a swimming pool.

The incident began about 5 p.m. when the Wells Fargo branch at 2301 Watt
Ave., in the Country Club Center, was robbed.

Sacramento County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Lou Fatur gave the following
description of the evening’s events:

A brown Mazda that matched witnesses’ descriptions was spotted by a
Sacramento police helicopter in the Fair Oaks neighborhood near Winding
Way and San Juan Avenue. A pursuit ensued until the Mazda hit a parked
car and crashed on the 4400 block of Plantation Drive.

“Officers see them jump out of the car and run in opposite directions,
possibly armed,” Fatur said.

The driver was quickly tackled and arrested.

The passenger crossed the street and climbed a fence into a back yard.

When he broke into the house through the back door, he was confronted by
the 56-year-old homeowner, who had grabbed his pistol.

The intruder shot at the homeowner, who returned three shots before
dropping to the ground when he saw officers enter his back yard.

The robber then turned toward an oncoming Sacramento police officer. The
veteran of 3 1/2 years fired two shots, and the wounded suspect fell to
the ground.

It’s unclear whether the suspect was hit by the homeowner, the police
officer, or both, Fatur said.

The homeowner, whose name was not released, was not shot but did injure
his shoulder when he fell to the ground. He was taken to an area
hospital.

The commotion astonished residents of the normally quiet neighborhood.

Scott Yesitis was in his house when he heard a circling helicopter and
an announcement being broadcast over its loudspeaker. He went outside to
find his street filled with officers.

“Every cop from the California Highway Patrol to Sacramento police to
Sacramento County sheriff’s to Citrus Heights police were on the
street,” Yesitis said. “Then we heard a couple of pops and ran back into
the house.”

Officers were at the scene late into the night, gathering thousands of
dollars from the swimming pool and across the yard.

The names of the two men arrested were not released pending confirmation
of their identities.

“I think that the citizens of Sacramento should be really pleased that
all their law enforcement officers coordinated together so well — this
was really a team effort,” said Sacramento interim Police Chief Albert
Najera.

The wounded man is a suspect in at least seven bank robberies since July
24, Fatur said.

In most of the robberies, a man matching the suspect’s description
walked into a bank wearing a motorcycle helmet. He typically vaulted
over the counter with a gun in his hand and demanded money from the
tellers, Fatur said.

In many cases he fled in a stolen Toyota.
In the past weeks numerous agencies have been searching for the robber,
and Friday night, they were ready for him, Najera said.

The man also may be a suspect in six earlier robberies between June 2001
and early 2002.
“We’ve been after this guy for a long time,” Najera said.
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