HWY17

[Drunk Monk]

Person taken into custody amid South Bay search for bank robber, carjacker

By Kimberly Veklerov and Jenna Lyons Updated 5:44 pm, Friday, January 27, 2017

Police were searching Friday for the man behind a chaotic South Bay crime spree in which he robbed a bank, carjacked a woman, stole an unmarked police car and survived being fired upon by an officer near Highway 17, officials said.
Late Friday afternoon, television news footage showed a suspect being detained in San Jose, but it was not immediately clear if it was the suspect in the robbery spree.
The unidentified suspect eluded authorities since he allegedly robbed a Bank of America in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz County) about 10 a.m. Thursday. He claimed to be armed with a gun when he walked into the bank, which happened to be about 100 yards from the Scotts Valley Police Department, said Lt. John Wilson.
“Who knows if he knew the area,” Wilson said. “Who knows if he knew we were here.”
Authorities circulated a photo of the suspect from a camera in the bank wearing a dark jacket, dark jeans and black mask.
The suspect — who never displayed a gun — made off with an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing north in a white Chrysler stolen out of San Jose. All of the police force’s roughly 20 sworn officers began searching for him.
When an officer spotted the suspect on Granite Creek Road heading toward Highway 17, the officer tried to stop the suspect, which led to a pursuit toward San Jose, officials said. The suspect crashed on Highway 17 in Santa Clara County, sparking a day-long closure of the roadway.
At some point, a Scotts Valley officer fired a weapon in Santa Clara County during the search, said county sheriff’s Sgt. Glennon. The sheriff’s office is leading the officer-involved shooting investigation.
Investigators believe the suspect later stole an unmarked police car — a 2009 Silver Chevy Malibu — from outside a home. The car belongs to a law enforcement officer from an outside agency who isn’t connected to the case, said Glennon.
He also allegedly carjacked a woman for her minivan during the search on Thursday and entered a Redwood Estates home armed with a knife before fleeing the area, officials said.
“It has been a challenge, but we will continue to push on until we can bring him into custody,” Glennon told reporters at a Friday afternoon news conference. “We do consider him armed and dangerous.”
Jenna Lyons and Kimberly Veklerov are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com, kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno @KVeklerov