Police Log: FBI Joins Bank Robbery Case

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is taking over the investigation of a series of East Bay bank robberies, including two in Alameda, an Alameda Police Department spokesman said Monday.

APD Lt. Ted Horlbeck said a suspect, Raymond David Lopez, has confessed to the robberies of the 1st Community Bank branch inside the Nob Hill market, 2531 Blanding Ave., on May 26 and of the US Bank branch inside the Safeway supermarket at 2227 South Shore Center on June 4.

Lopez was arrested June 27 by Dublin Police Services on suspicion of robbing a US Bank branch in Dublin on June 12. Lopez, who lives in Chicago and Arizona, is also a suspect in bank robberies in Pleasanton, San Leandro and Lafayette. Dublin police said last week that Lopez confessed to eight bank robberies in California and one in Texas.

Surveillance photos from several of the banks showed the robber wearing a variety of hats during the crimes.

Horlbeck said Alameda police still have follow-up work to do in connection with the local robberies, but the FBI will now take the lead role in the investigation.

Burglary and Theft

A burglar cut the locks on two self-storage units at Alameda Point Storage, 50 W. Oriskany Ave., ransacked the units and removed still-to-be-identified items. The thefts were reported June 28. On June 30, two similar incidents were reported at Public Storage, 1829 Webster St. Horlbeck said it's difficult to know when the burglaries occurred, because many renters of self-storage units visit them infrequently and the thefts may not be discovered for some time. He said the Webster Street storage facility has been the target of similar thefts in the past. In those cases, the burglar cut the locks and replacing them with similar locks after stealing items from the units.

Someone stole a Jet Ski and trailer from the 1300 block of Park Street on June 29, according to police reports.

A burglar entered a home in the 1000 block of Taylor Avenue through an open window on July 1 and stole collector knives and video game equipment, Horlbeck said.

Counterfeit Cash

A man in his 40s bought a queen-sized quilt at a garage sale in the 1200 block of Central Avenue, paying in cash. The money looked funny to the seller, so she took it to her bank — which confirmed that the bills were, indeed, counterfeit, Horlbeck said. The incident was reported to police July 1.

One Less Tree

Someone cut down a city-owned tree in the 2800 block of Madison Street on June 28, according to police reports.

Arrests

Police detained a man in the 1800 block of Hibbard Street after a report of a possible burglary in progress about 11 p.m on June 29, Horlbeck said. The man lunged toward the officers and was arrested on suspicion of obstructing a police officer, public intoxication and violating a domestic violence restraining order, he said. Horlbeck said a search of the neighborhood did not find any signs of forced entry on nearby buildings, so the man will not be charged with burglary.

A 49-year-old Alameda woman was arrested and booked into Santa Rita Jail after she punched her husband in the face several times, Horlbeck said. The victim's injuries were minor, he said.

Vehicle Crimes

Someone broke a window of a vehicle in the 100 block of Brush Street and stole personal property. Vehicles were stolen from the 1700 block of Nason Street and the 100 block of Nottingham Drive. All three incidents were reported to police on July 1.

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