Suspect Robs Two San Leandro Banks, Possibly Others in Oakland, Police Say

Two banks were robbed in San Leandro this week, likely by the same suspect, police said. 

, at the corner of Bancroft and Dutton avenues, was robbed on Wednesday morning around 11:40 a.m., according to Sgt. Robert McManus, a spokesman for the .

, at the corner of East 14th Street and Dolores Avenue in downtown San Leandro, was robbed on Thursday around 11:00 a.m.

In both cases, the suspect presented a demand note to a teller and fled with money. The suspect did not show a weapon in either case, McManus said. 

Police have surveillance footage indicating the same man unsuccessfully attempted to rob two banks in East Oakland on Wednesday morning before he robbed the credit union in San Leandro, McManus said. 

The two robberies bring the total number of bank heists in the city this year to five. Last year there were just two bank robberies, but in 2009 there were a total of 11 banks robbed plus two attempts, McManus said. 

He said many of the 2009 robberies occurred within a six-week period, and that all were committed by members of the same street gang. Arrests were made in nine of the 2009 cases, according to McManus.

Police were unable to successfully follow any leads in the two 2010 robberies, he said. 

Police arrested two suspects connected to the robbery in January of this year. (Wells Fargo was in February.)

The San Leandro Police Department sent out a dozen uniformed and plainclothes officers to circulate around the city's banks on Friday, McManus said. 

“We tried to proactively prevent it today," he said.