Suspect 'Tearfully' Admits To Fremont Bank Hold-Up: Cops

FREMONT, CA – After painstaking searches of community surveillance videos, along with Department of Motor Vehicles and car dealership records and collaboration with Southern California law enforcement, police this week arrested a man from Granada Hills in connection with the October robbery of a Fremont bank, authorities said.

Mark Gay, 55, was arrested in Los Angeles, "provided a tearful admission" and on Nov. 23 was transported to Alameda County and booked on suspicion of robbery at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, the Fremont Police Department said today.

Gay is accused of an Oct. 25 afternoon hold-up at Wells Fargo on the 39200 block of Paseo Padre Parkway, police said. Officers arrived shortly after a 911 call from an employee reporting the bank was robbed via a "demand note" by a male described as white, slender, 50 to 60 years old, clean-shaven with short, gray hair and wearing a green and black baseball cap, a white, button-up shirt, and baggy, black cargo pants that ended above the ankle.

Despite a search of the area, no suspect was located.

Within a few days, on Oct. 30, the Fremont detective on the case learned from Wells Fargo corporate security that the suspect also was linked to four recent Wells Fargo robberies in Southern California, police said.

In one SoCal case, the man's alleged getaway car was described as a black 2018 Nissan Sentra with no license plates. From that tip, the Fremont officer reviewed video footage from community cameras located near the Paseo Padre bank locale and spotted a similar vehicle on Mowry Avenue, just east of Interstate 880.

"The vehicle appeared to be consistent with the suspect vehicle, with the only difference being a 'Mission Hills Nissan' paper plate affixed to the rear of the vehicle," the department said. "An internet search revealed Mission Hills, CA was within the greater Los Angeles area and close in proximity to the four southern California robberies that had taken place.

A search warrant issued to the Mission Hills Nissan dealership requested personal information of anyone who purchased a similar vehicle within the past year, and on Nov. 13, the Fremont detective received 130 purchase records. Based on the suspect's description and approximate age, police narrowed down the purchasers' list, compared it to DMV and the previous robbery photos and the suspect was determined to be Gay, police said.

Vehicle-tracking capabilities reportedly revealed Gay’s car was in the immediate area during four of the five robberies, including the Fremont incident, police said.

On Nov. 20, Fremont police, armed with an arrest warrant, along with the FBI and the Simi Valley Police Department, found and apprehended Gay, officials said, adding that evidence recovered from his car "corroborated his involvement in the robberies."

During an interview with law enforcement, Gay purportedly "provided a tearful admission to all of the robberies under investigation," according to authorities.

“This investigation is a perfect example of multiple agencies working together to identify, locate and arrest a serious offender,” Fremont Police Lieutenant Mike Tegner said.

Gay is due to appear in court Nov. 29.

Anyone with additional information on the case can call the Fremont Police Department’s Investigative Unit at 510-790-6900.

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--Image via Fremont PD