A convicted felon accused of holding up multiple banks in southwest Riverside County on the same day was charged Thursday with three counts of robbery.
Sonny Tho Leu, 62, of Murrieta was arrested Tuesday following a joint Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Murrieta Police Department investigation.
Leu, who is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center, was slated to make his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Hephner, shortly before noon on Tuesday, Leu allegedly walked into a thrift in the 40400 block of Margarita Road in Temecula and handed a note demanding money to a teller, prompting the victim to trigger a silent alarm before surrendering an undisclosed amount of cash to the defendant.
Leu immediately left the location, carrying an orange bag with the money, Hephner alleged.
He said patrol deputies converged on the bank within minutes but were unable to locate the bandit.
“While deputies were on scene investigating, it was learned two additional bank robberies occurred in Murrieta, utilizing the same method and same suspect description,” the sergeant said. “In one of the incidents, a suspect vehicle was identified and located a short time later by officers from the Murrieta Police Department in the 35000 Block of Crickhowell Avenue”
The patrolmen conducted a traffic stop and detained the driver, Leu, without incident.
“Through investigative means, Leu was positively identified as the person responsible for the three bank robberies,” Hephner said. “A search warrant was served on his residence and vehicle, during which several items of evidentiary value were located, connecting him to each of the robberies.”
No one was injured during the alleged holdups.
Court documents show Leu has prior convictions in another jurisdiction that resulted in state prison time, but the offenses weren’t listed.