Watsonville man arrested for robbing Robobank

CASTROVILLE—Sheriff’s Deputies from Monterey County arrested Brandon West, 34, of Watsonville after he attempted to rob a bank on the 10000 block of Merritt Street in Castroville.

Brandon West

At around 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon, authorities said that West entered the Robobank branch on Merritt Street and handed the customer service representative a note.   He told her to give him the money and keep quiet or he was going to hurt her.  West did not display a weapon to the customer service representative at anytime.

“There was no gun seen or reported to the investigators,” Monterey County Sheriff’s Department Commander Lisa Nash said. The customer service representative complied with West’s demands and gave him the money.  He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.  West was seen leaving the bank in a white taxicab.

Deputies spotted the taxicab an attempted to pull the cab over, the driver complied with the deputies commands and pulled over.   West left the taxicab and fled on foot but was caught a short time later after a short foot chase. “Due to the investigative nature of this case the Sheriff’s Department cannot expand on the information at this time,” Nash added.

The suspect was taken into custody and all the money was recovered.  West was booked into the Monterey County Jail on suspicion of bank robbery.

Investigators with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department are still actively investigating this case and they are asking anyone with information is encouraged to call the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department 1-831-755-3700

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