FBI Seeks Public’s Help to Locate an Alleged Pinole Bank Robber

The FBI and the Pinole Police Department are seeking the public’s help in locating a man charged with allegedly robbing the Mechanics Bank located at 2690 Pinole Valley Road in Pinole, California, on March 1, 2013.

Gary Casdell Fite, Jr., 22, of Oakland, California, was charged with armed bank robbery in a federal complaint and an arrest warrant was also issued.

According to the complaint, on Friday, March 1, 2013, at about 4:30 p.m., the Mechanics Bank on Pinole Valley Road was robbed by an unknown male. Witnesses described the suspect as a black male, wearing a tan baseball cap, blue jeans jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt, carrying a black bag over his shoulder and brandishing a black semi-automatic handgun.

The suspect entered the bank and jumped over the bank teller counter. During the robbery, the robber pointed a firearm at a victim teller’s head and verbally demanded money. The victim teller, fearing for their safety and the safety of others, provided the robber with a sum of money. The suspect took the money and ran out the front door of the bank in an unknown direction.

After an investigation, Fite, Jr. was identified as the suspect. He was charged with armed bank robbery in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland on March 8, 2013. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Fite, Jr. on the same date.

Fite, Jr. is a male, black, 22 years of age, 5’8” tall, and weighs about 180 lbs. He has black hair and brown eyes. He also has ties to Reno, Nevada, and Oakland, Antioch and Vallejo, California.

The FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at 415-553-7400 in the San Francisco area. All calls are confidential.

Members of the media should call Public Affairs Specialist Julianne Sohn at 415-553-7450.