Man Who Posed As Cop While Robbing Bay Area Spa Arrested: Sheriff

CUPERTINO, CA — A man has been arrested on suspicion of posing as a police officer to rob a Bay Area spa earlier this month, police said.

Donning a camouflage vest with the words "police" across the back plate and a duty belt with what appeared to be a gun, 32-year-old San Andreas resident Brendan Kroning walked into Sunny Spa in Cupertino around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, claiming he was there to conduct an inspection, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.

Instead, Kroning unplugged the spa's security cameras and asked workers to open the cash register, authorities said.

Kroning grabbed a large amount of cash from the register, ran out of the building, got into a car and left, authorities said.

Nobody was hurt during the robbery, and detectives responded within minutes to the spa to investigate, deputies said.

Detectives didn't track down Kroning that day, deputies said. Although it's unclear how, deputies said they were able to identify him as a suspect after conducting "follow-up work."

After arresting Kroning in connection with the robbery, authorities searched his car and found evidence tying him to the crime, deputies said. They also served a warrant at this home, but police did not say whether they found anything related to the case inside.

Deputies say they believe Kroning may have targeted other people. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who may have experienced a similar incident to contact the agency at 408-808-4500.