Rohnert Park man arrested in connection with February bank robbery

A Rohnert Park man was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of having a role in a Santa Rosa bank robbery, during which a man threatened to shoot a bank teller, following a nearly three-month investigation, police said.

Santa Rosa Police Department violent crimes detectives identified the suspect in the February theft through various investigative means, such as DNA testing, the agency said in a Wednesday news release.

The suspect is believed to be the man who produced a note demanding money at about 12:35 p.m. Feb. 3 at an Exchange Bank in the St. Francis Shopping Center on Calistoga Road in Santa Rosa.

The note said the suspect had a gun and would shoot the teller if she didn’t hand over money. He started to lift his shirt as he passed the note, indicating he had a firearm, but is it unknown if he had a gun, police said.

The suspect fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash down Calistoga Road. Police did not immediately locate the subject but found his clothing.

Officers, SWAT team members and the hostage negotiation team served a search warrant at 5:50 a.m. Tuesday at the suspect’s residence in the 6400 block of Country Club Drive in Rohnert Park where they located suspected narcotics, including meth, cocaine and anabolic steroids.

Christopher Cairati, 41, was arrested without incident and booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of robbery and possession of narcotics and controlled substances.

Anyone with information about the investigation is encouraged to contact SRPD through its online Tip Line at srcity.org/CrimeTips.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.