Arrest in Santa Ana Bank Heist
A man suspected of robbing a Santa Ana bank Saturday was tracked by police and arrested only hours later at a local motel, authorities said.
William Randall Castro, 35, surrendered without a fight, said Santa Ana Police Lt. Paul Gonsalves.
Police found a large sum of cash in the room but no weapons, Gonsalves said. Castro will be charged with bank robbery, he said.
Police said a man entered a Wells Fargo Bank in the 2700 block of North Main Street about 1:40 p.m. He handed a note to a teller saying he had a gun. No one in the bank was hurt, and the man fled with an unknown amount of cash, police said.
By 5 p.m., police tracked the suspect to the Royal Roman Motel in the 1500 block of East 1st Street.
Gonsalves said police negotiators called Castro on the motel room’s telephone. He initially claimed to have a hand grenade, firearms and a hostage, police said, but later surrendered as officers were preparing to surround the motel.
The incident came a day after another suspected robber -- Guy William Savage, 35, of Buena Park, who was dubbed the “Buddy Holly bandit†because of his resemblance to the rock legend -- was shot and critically wounded by police in the parking lot of a Washington Mutual Bank in Anaheim.
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