Robber Escapes US Bank Moments Ahead of Police

A man held up the US Bank at Parrot Street and East 14th Street Tuesday afternoon, apparently escaping moments ahead of police who arrived on scene suited up for a possible confrontation.

It is not known whether the suspect had a gun, nor how much was taken during the late afternoon holdup. 

Gabriel Fonseca, a Patch reader who works at the nearby Los Pericos in Pelton Center, said he got to work shortly before his 4 pm shift and was talking with co-workers when they saw police cars on East 14th Street.

He went outside to count at least eight cars and two motorcycles, and saw police in bulletbroof vests armed with automatic weapons. One officer had a gas grenade launcher.

San Leandro Police Department Lieutenant Randy Brandt said officers got a call just before 4 pm about a bank robbery in progress.

"We flooded the scene," Brandt said. "From the reports we were getting we thought he was surely still there."

But after police cordoned the area and interviewed the employees and patrons on hand, they realized that the perpetrator had fled.

"He must have gotten away just before we arrived," Brandt said.

Police have only a vague description of the perpetrator: a dark-complected man in his 20s wearing a dark jacket and hooded sweatshit.

One person in the vicinty who met that description was briefly detained for questioning but had nothing to do with the case and was released, Brandt said.

Brandt said the holdup man produced a note demanding money and the clerk complied but it is not clear that any gun was brandished.

Police interviewed witnesses Tuesday night as the investigation continued.

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