Palo Alto police have made an arrest in connection with Saturday's bank robbery on El Camino Real after tips from two other law-enforcement agencies led officers to the suspect at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care Systems on Tuesday morning.
Eddie Boyce Jr., 50, was arrested and charged with robbing the Provident Credit Union at 2390 El Camino Real on Saturday morning. He is the same man who crashed through a police barricade at President Barack Obama's motorcade, Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson said.
Boyce allegedly walked into the bank at about 9:40 a.m. wearing black nylon jacket and pants, eyeglasses, a baseball hat and a backpack and handed a teller a note claiming that he had a gun and demanding cash, according to the police. The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of money and the suspect fled on foot.
Since then, the Palo Alto Police Department issued a bulletin with surveillance images of the suspect to law-enforcement agencies throughout the area. The department then received tips from two different agencies. One was a deputy in the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, who said he was familiar with the suspect from a prior booking. The other tipster, according to the police, was the suspect's own probation officer from the San Mateo County Probation Department.
On Tuesday, Palo Alto officers had little trouble arresting Boyce, whom they described as a "transient."
After following up on the two tips from San Mateo, local officers located him at the VA facility at 3801 Miranda Ave. and arrested him without incident and with assistance from the Veterans Affairs Police Department, according to the police. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for one count of robbery.
Boyce will appear in Santa Clara County Superior Court in Palo Alto on April 18 afternoon.
The Feb. 9 robbery at Provident Credit Union was the second such incident to take place at this bank in a month. Another robbery occurred on Jan. 9. Hunter D. Thompson, 32, of San Jose, has since been arrested and charged with that crime.
Comments
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 17, 2013 at 3:53 pm
on Apr 17, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Congratulation to all the local police departments.
But what about the money? Anybody find that?
Palo Verde
on Apr 17, 2013 at 4:37 pm
on Apr 17, 2013 at 4:37 pm
I wish we could hear this man's story from his probation officer or someone at the VA.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 17, 2013 at 6:03 pm
on Apr 17, 2013 at 6:03 pm
Thanks, PAPD!
Menlo Park
on Apr 18, 2013 at 11:02 am
on Apr 18, 2013 at 11:02 am
Glad no one at the bank suffered any harm. I use that branch regularly and the people who work there are terrific.
Meadow Park
on Apr 18, 2013 at 12:04 pm
on Apr 18, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Congratulations to all police forces in working together and detaining and arresting the hood. What in the name of goodness is a fifty year old thinking about robbing a bank at that stage in his life!
Midtown
on Apr 18, 2013 at 2:55 pm
on Apr 18, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Great job PD!
Thanks
Registered user
Stanford
on Apr 18, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Registered user
on Apr 18, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Wonderful job, Palo Alto police!
Green Acres
on Apr 20, 2013 at 3:21 am
on Apr 20, 2013 at 3:21 am
VA needs housing for OUR Vets...this man is only one of thousands who are now transients. Male and females also. Sad.