Novato Bank Robbery Suspect Shot by Cop has Non-Life Threatening Injuries

A Novato bank robbery suspect who was shot at the end of a frantic chase by a Marin County sheriff’s deputy underwent surgery for non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

The suspect allegedly robbed a Bank of the West on 1313 Grant Avenue shortly after 9 a.m., San Rafael Police Department spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher said.

The deputy shot the suspect after he pulled a gun on him, Rohrbacher said.

No other injuries were reported.

The deputy, a 7 ½ year veteran of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, is on paid administrative leave per departmental protocol, Rohrbacher said.

The suspect has not yet been identified and authorities have not yet confirmed whether he is the serial bank robber who’s hit 10 Marin County banks in the last year.

All signs, however, point to the suspect in custody being so called “Cotton Ball Bandit.”

Law enforcement agencies countywide were on alert for silver Saturn sedan a witness identified as the suspect’s vehicle.

The suspect led a deputy who initially tried to pull him over on Highway 101 at 9:34 a.m. on a chase from the Lincoln Avenue exit onto surface streets all the way to Terra Linda before crashing his silver Saturn sedan into a parking sign on Las Gallinas Avenue.

The suspect was shot within a 100 yards of a Wells Fargo Bank the serial robber hit on Oct. 30.

Wednesday’s incident came the day before the one-year anniversary of the “Cotton Ball Bandit’s” first heist. He hit a Chase Bank on 401 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Greenbrae on Dec. 12 of last year.

Several blocks of Las Gallinas Avenue were shut down while investigators gathered evidence at the scene.

The area was reopened by 4 p.m.

SRPD, Novato Police, and the FBI are working together on the bank robbery and the officer involved shooting investigations.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call San Rafael Police at (415) 485-3000 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222.8477.

This phone number will accommodate all languages. Callers can remain anonymous and may earn a possible reward. 

Tips can be made online at www.bayareacrimestoppers.org. Information can also be provided by using the SRPD Silent Witness tip form available at http://www.srpd.org/tips. - See more at: http://www.srpd.org/press/full.php?id=180#sthash.v6eS5Y0V.dpuf