SAN RAFAEL (KRON) — While looking for a bank robber, police in San Rafael arrested a man wanted on attempted murder charges in Richmond.
Around 10:37 a.m., police said that the man in the picture entered a Bank of Marin branch after getting access through their secured front door security system.
Once inside the bank, the man went up to a teller and told her that he was robbing the bank. The man became agitated during the robber and displayed a gun.
The teller gave the man an undisclosed amount of money.
There were customers in the bank at the time of the robbery. They saw the robbery, but weren’t hurt.
The robber left the bank and was last seen in the area of Fourth and A streets.
Around 10:57 a.m., two San Rafael police officers saw a person matching the description of the bank robber at the San Rafael Transit Center. The Transit Center is only three blocks away from the bank. Because of its proximity to the bank, police approached the man.
The man, later identified as 36-year-old John Williams, initially complied with the Officers’ requests, before police say that he became uncooperative, reaching for a bag that he had put on the ground when he was initially contacted.
Police said that Williams then tried to get away from the Officers.
The two officers tried to detain Williams and limit his access to the bag, fearing the Williams was the robbery suspect and knowing the bank robber had a gun. According to police, Williams resisted arrest and tried to escape.
The two Officers called for backup. When a supervisor arrived, the trio took Williams to the ground in an attempt to contain and handcuff him. Before he was handcuffed, and while police say he was was resisting on the ground, Officers saw what they believed was a semi-automatic pistol tucked into the suspect’s waistband.
The handgun was removed and Williams was subsequently handcuffed. The handgun was loaded with a round in the chamber and additional ammunition was in the magazine of the gun. More ammunition was located in the bag Williams was trying to keep from the Officers.
Police say that Williams had to be carried to the police vehicle because he refused to walk on his own.
Witnesses from the bank robbery were not able to identify his as the person who robbed the bank.
A routine check showed that Williams was wanted on a warrant for attempted murder in Richmond. He will be booked for the Richmond warrant and will face additional charges in San Rafael.