Crime & Safety
Man Captured, Charged After Third Robbery at Rockridge Safeway
Christopher Banks, 22, confessed to two previous robberies at the Safeway supermarket at 51st Street and Broadway after he was captured following another robbery attempt there last Sunday, police said.
A 22-year-old man was charged Thursday with three counts of armed robbery, two attempted robberies and arson after a series of hold-ups at the Rockridge Safeway — most recently on Sunday, after he attempted to rob a Safeway cashier at knifepoint, police said, according to an article in the Oakland Tribune.
Oakland police said Christopher Banks, 22, a transient, confessed to two earlier robberies at the same Safeway, located in the Rockridge Shopping Center at Broadway and 51st Street/Pleasant Valley Avenue, Oakland.
Banks stole several thousand dollars from Safeway in robberies on March 10 and March 29, Oakland Police Officer Nick Calonge said.
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Calonge said store employees chased Banks after the Sunday incident and held him until police arrived.
Banks also admitted to setting bushes on fire next to a former girlfriend's home in North Oakland, police said.
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He remains in custody in lieu of $450,000 bail, according to the Tribune.
You may read the complete Oakland Tribune article here.
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