Union Bank was robbed Tuesday. Image: Google Maps
Union Bank in Berkeley was robbed Tuesday. Image: Google Maps

Berkeley police officers recovered the cash after arresting a homeless man they said was responsible for robbing a bank late Tuesday morning.

According to police, Barrett Brown was not armed but instead used a note to demand money from a teller at the downtown Berkeley Union Bank located at 2333 Shattuck Ave., at Durant Avenue.

Police described Brown, who is 35, as transient.

Bank staff called in the robbery report to police dispatchers at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Lt. Jennifer Louis, dayshift watch commander.

Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats said police were able to catch up with Brown nearby at Shattuck and Dwight Way, about three blocks south of where the robbery took place.

Coats said police recovered the money from the robbery and took Brown into custody.

No other suspects are sought in the case.

One local resident reported on Twitter, as of about 2:50 p.m., that the bank was “closed all day with … police officers and CSU inside.”

Authorities said the last bank robbery in Berkeley took place in August.

Update, Dec. 9, 1:20 p.m. According to online records from the Alameda County sheriff’s department, Brown is being held at Santa Rita Jail with a bail of $100,000 on suspicion of robbery. He is scheduled for arraignment Thursday at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.

Read more about robberies in Berkeley in past Berkeleyside coverage. 

Related:
Berkeley police respond to bank robbery downtown (07.01.15)
Man with gun robs Solano Avenue bank in Berkeley (01.16.13)
Armed men assault bank security guard in Berkeley (06.07.12)

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Emilie Raguso (former senior editor, news) joined Berkeleyside in 2012 and covered politics, public safety and development until her departure in 2022. In 2017, Emilie was named Journalist of the Year...