*Brinks Armored Truck Robber Fled in Vehicle with Accomplice in Sebastopol

Published by Junior Staff Writer on May 19, 2009

ID #09-147

A gunman took an orange bag containing money from a Brinks armored truck guard at the Bank of America on Healdsburg Avenue in Sebastopol late this morning and fled in a vehicle driven by an accomplice, police said. Officer Dennis Colthurst said the guard was approached from behind as he was about to wheel the bag of money on a cart into the bank at 7185 Healdsburg Ave. around 11:50 a.m. The robber told the guard to lie down and the guard momentarily reached for his weapon before deciding against it, Colthurst said. The driver of the Brinks armored vehicle was unaware of the robbery until it was almost over, Colthurst said. The robber had a .40-caliber, Smith and Wesson law enforcement-type handgun with “ramps” for mounting lasers or flashlights, Colthurst said. The suspect is described as a white man, about 5 feet 10 inches with a thin build and dirty blond hair. He is in his 30s to mid-forties and was wearing a cream-colored baseball cap, a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue shorts and sunglasses, Colthurst said. The robber got into a late 1990s or early 2000 two-door silver Toyota or Honda-type vehicle that traveled west on Keating Avenue then south on Pitt Avenue, Colthurst said. Police do not have a description of the driver but have released a sketch of the suspect, Colthurst said. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department also responded and searched the area for the getaway vehicle, police said. The FBI is involved in the investigation, Colthurst said. Please call the Fugitive Watch hot line at 1-800-9-CAUGHT (1-800-922-8448) or text us at 408-355-0999 if you have any information.