1 of 4 Banks Robbed Was Hit Earlier in Week

A flurry of bank robberies struck San Diego and National City Friday, with four separate banks hit by holdup men, police reported.

In one case, a Great Western Bank branch was robbed for the second time in three days.

Friday’s first holdup occurred about 9:30 a.m. when a Union Bank branch in National City was robbed of an undetermined amount of cash by a man who said in a note passed to a teller that he had a weapon, said FBI spokesman Jack Kelly.

The robber was described as Latino, in his mid-20s, 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10, 175 pounds with a full mustache and wearing a blue T-shirt and blue pants.

Next, at 11:30 a.m., a man robbed a Security Pacific Bank branch in the 3400 block of College Avenue, police reported.

In that case, the man told a teller he had a gun inside his folded newspaper and demanded money. He left with about $1,000 and got into a car driven by another man.

Half an hour later, authorities arrested Patrick Charles de Geronimo, who turned 45 on Friday, and Virgil Lee Fletcher, age unknown, both from North Park. Detectives recovered most of the cash believed to have been taken in that incident, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

De Geronimo is a prime suspect in at least six other bank robberies in the county, the FBI said. The men are being held in the Metropolitan Correction Center.

About 12:50 p.m., the Great Western branch in the 3600 block of Midway Drive was struck. The robber, who also passed a note to a teller, made off on foot with $737, police said.

Forty minutes later, the same robber is believed to have entered a Home Savings of America branch in the 100 block of West Ash Street downtown, handing a demand note to a teller, in which he claimed to have a weapon. The robber left minutes later with $559.

The robber is described as a white male in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5-foot-10, with a slim build and short reddish-brown hair, the FBI’s Kelly said.

He wore sunglasses and an Oakland Athletics cap and carried a black backpack during the first robbery. He changed his clothes for the second robbery, wearing a gray warm-up jacket and carrying a shoulder bag.

Kelly said Friday’s four bank robberies brought total robberies countywide this year to 44.

There were 50 bank robberies countywide by the end of February last year, he said.