San Francisco bank robber convicted

By Tamara Barak, Bay City News

March 8, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A federal jury convicted a San Francisco man of robbing two banks in the city's Pacific Heights and Marina neighborhoods, the United States Attorney's Office announced.

Shaun Roberts, 28, was found guilty on Thursday of two counts of armed bank robbery and two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The prosecution was the result of an eight-month investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Francisco Police Department.

According to the office of U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan, the jury deliberated a day and a half before reaching its decision. The trial took place over four days.

Roberts was convicted of pointing a gun at tellers during a June 22, 2005 robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank at the corner of Fillmore and California streets and an Aug. 1, 2005 hold-up of a Bank of America at the corner of Chestnut and Pierce streets.

The jury also found the federal government was entitled to seize the 1992 Cadillac Seville that prosecutors had alleged was bought with proceeds from the Wells Fargo robbery.

Roberts was arrested following the Aug. 1 Bank of America robbery after a teller placed a tracking device in the stolen money. Roberts led police on a high-speed chase before being captured. Police recovered nearly $12,000 from the Wells Fargo robbery and more than $4,000 from the Bank of America robbery, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Roberts remains in federal custody. He will be sentenced May 18 in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Roberts faces a maximum penalty of 25 years for each of the two counts of armed bank robbery, as well as a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years for using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

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