Rudi Romano Griffin
PALO ALTO — Palo Alto Police officers were able to identify and arrest a wanted suspect in an earlier bank robbery that led officers on a foot chase in the downtown area.
According to Police, “On Monday, May 22, 2017 at about 1:19 p.m., a robbery occurred at the Bank of America at 530 Lytton Avenue in downtown Palo Alto.” During the investigation, police were able to obtain video surveillance of the suspect as he stood in line at the teller window. The suspect’s photo was released on social media websites reporting the incident and was released to news media outlets in order to help identify and locate him.
Surveillance pic of Griffin
According to police, “On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, at about 3:19 p.m., an employee at Shoe Palace at 451 University Avenue called police after the suspect walked into the store and paid for items with several crisp $100 bills.”
A witness recognizing the suspect realized that he was the bank robbery suspect police were looking for and quickly notified police of the suspect’s presence at the store. During the initial contact by police on University Avenue, the suspect quickly tried to flee from officers, who later deployed a taser to take him into custody after he fought with them. According to police, “The suspect sustained minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital per standard procedure following a taser deployment.”
After being treated for his wounds, 43-year-old Rudi Romano Griffin of East Palo Alto was booked into the Santa Clara County Mail Jail for bank robbery (a felony) and resisting arrest (a misdemeanor). Police also booked him for a probation violation, as the suspect is on active probation in Santa Clara County for theft.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.
