DNA links homeless man to Exchange Bank robbery in south Santa Rosa

A DNA match has linked a 28-year-old homeless man with an “extensive” criminal history to a November armed robbery in south Santa Rosa, and a warrant for his arrest has been issued, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

Cesar Garcia Arista is suspected of robbing Exchange Bank on the corner of Dutton Avenue and Sebastopol Road on Nov. 21. Deputies said the suspect walked into the bank around 1 p.m., pointed a gun at a clerk and demanded money before taking off north towards the Joe Rodota trail with an undisclosed amount of cash - and a dye pack that exploded shortly after.

Detectives found a beanie cap and bandanna near the trail, the sheriff’s office said. The items were sent to a state crime lab for DNA testing.

Arista, who has family in Gualala, currently is in jail in Southern California after being arrested on suspicion of an armed carjacking in San Bernardino County, Sonoma County sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said. He said the man also is under investigation for two armed bank robberies in Southern California.