A Walnut Creek woman was confronted in her front yard by an armed intruder who drove her to a downtown bank and forced her to withdraw money while he waited outside Tuesday morning.
The abduction and robbery took place in the 400 block of Muller Road shortly after 10:30 a.m. police said Tuesday. It is believed that an armed man wearing a straw hat and bandana confronted the woman in her yard, forced her into her car and ordered her to accompany him to the Bank of America branch in the city, where she was reportedly forced to withdraw an unspecified amount of cash while he waited.
Both suspect and victim returned to the victim’s neighborhood, police said, where the victim was released unharmed, the victim managing to call police at 11:55 a.m. Police were reportedly looking for a silver station wagon in connection with this crime. We’ll have more on this story as additional details become available.
The case would be the first kidnap for robbery in Walnut Creek since a woman was kidnapped as she walked to her car in the Shadelands business park on Nov. 12, 2012. In that case, the 57-year-old victim was forced to withdraw cash from several ATMs around town before she was driven out of the city and eventually released.
In today’s case, police are asking anyone who may have seen something suspicious to call them at (925) 256-3518. Investigators are also hoping video footage from neighborhood home security cameras in the area of Lakewood Road around the time of the robbery may help lead them to the perpetrator.
