A 62-year-old man from Murrieta suspected of committing three bank robberies in Murrieta and Temecula has been arrested, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday.
Sonny Tho Leu was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon without incident during a high-risk traffic stop in the 35000 block of Crickhowell Avenue in Murrieta, according to Sgt. Josh Hephner of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The arrest came after Southwest Station deputies responded to the 40400 block of Margarita Road in Temecula around 11:50 a.m. Tuesday regarding a panic alarm at a bank, where employees confirmed a robbery had recently occurred, Hephner said.
The suspect was described as an Asian man last seen wearing a blue shirt, baseball cap, and carrying an orange bag. It was learned the suspect passed a note to the teller demanding money. The teller complied and the suspect fled the location with an undisclosed amount of money before deputies arrived. No victims were injured during the robbery, Hephner said.
“While deputies were on the scene investigating the robbery, it was learned two additional bank robberies occurred in the city of Murrieta utilizing the same method and same suspect description,” Hephner said in a statement.
A suspect vehicle in one of the robberies was identified and located a short time later by Murrieta Police Department officers in the 35000 block of Crickhowell Avenue, leading to the arrest, Hephner said.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Leu’s residence and vehicle, with several evidentiary items connecting him to each robbery recovered at the scene, Hephner said.
The robberies were being investigated by the Southwest Sheriff’s Station Robbery/Burglary Suppression Team, Hephner said
Leu was booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center on suspicion of multiple counts of robbery and criminal threats.
Anyone with information regarding the robberies was urged to call Hephner at 951-304-5087.