Suspect Admits Robbing Bank at Town Center

A man suspected of on Oct. 25 as well as two other North Bay banks has confessed to the crimes, a Santa Rosa police sergeant said today.

Keith Robert Kenton, 47, of Middletown (Lake County) admitted robbing the Westamerica Bank at 424 Farmers Lane in Santa Rosa on Oct. 5, the in Corte Madera on Oct. 25 and the US Bank in a Safeway store in American Canyon on Nov. 3, Sgt. Steve Fraga said.

Santa Rosa police placed Kenton under surveillance after the Napa County Sheriff's Office informed them Kenton was identified on Nov. 10 as the suspect in the American Canyon bank robbery, Napa County sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart said.

On Nov. 15, Santa Rosa police followed Kenton from a hospital where he visited his girlfriend. He was arrested for the Santa Rosa robbery after sheriff's deputies disabled his car near Westside Road and West Dry Creek Road in Sonoma County, Fraga said. During an interview that day, Kenton admitted to Santa Rosa police that he robbed the three banks, Fraga said.

The FBI is investigating the robberies and considering federal prosecution because Kenton has served time for bank robbery, Fraga said.

The Corte Madera bank at 137 was robbed at 5:38 p.m. by a mustached man wearing a knit cap and construction boots, according to . The robber approached a teller and demanded money, and the teller handed over an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect then fled with the money, police said.

The suspect in the American Canyon robbery gave a teller a note stating he had a gun. He demanded money and fled the store.

Stuart said someone called Napa Valley Crime Stoppers and identified Kenton as the suspect. The sheriff's office then notified Santa Rosa and other police agencies that were investigating bank robberies, Stuart said.

— Bay City News Service