Police: 1 man behind 3 Oakland robberies

By Lori Stover

Police believe that one man is responsible for the three recent Oakland bank robberies, a… Police believe that one man is responsible for the three recent Oakland bank robberies, a Pittsburgh police sergeant said.

While the descriptions given of the suspect in each of the robberies didn’t match up perfectly, city police Sgt. Lavonnie Bickerstaff said police believe the same man committed all three crimes based on other evidence gathered during the investigation.

Bickerstaff would not release information about this evidence or comment further on progress police have made in the investigation.’

The April 14 and Feb. 24 robberies both occurred at Parkvale Bank at 3520 Forbes Ave. A third robbery occurred at National City Bank at 3700 Fifth Ave., on April 8, she said.

In each of the robberies, a man made verbal threats to the bank teller, but no one reported seeing a weapon, she said.

Witnesses in each case described the suspect as a black man, but the height described varies between incidents. Bickerstaff said people often misjudge height based on their own height. For example, taller people tend to describe people of average height as shorter than they actually are.’