Cloverdale police arrest man suspected in string of bank robberies

A three-week crime spree came to an end for a suspected bank robber when he was arrested Tuesday afternoon while leaving an Exchange Bank.

Travis Strickland, 37, of Ukiah, is suspected of carrying out at least four bank robberies and attempting two others, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Josh Ludtke said.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Cloverdale officers responded to an alarm at the Exchange Bank at 116 South Cloverdale Blvd. Ludtke said the suspect was “spooked” by the alarm and fled the bank. An employee followed him to the parking lot and was able to provide a vehicle description.

Police stopped a black Mercedes a block away from the bank as it was leaving the area and determined the driver was the bank robbery suspect. Strickland was arrested without further incident.

Multiple law enforcement agencies from Sonoma and Mendocino counties had been searching for a suspect in a string of bank robberies.

Strickland is suspected of robbing four banks, in Santa Rosa, Cloverdale, Ukiah and Healdsburg, Ludtke said. The man also attempted to rob another bank in Cloverdale and one in Ukiah, he said.

It appeared the earliest robbery happened Nov. 16 at a Cloverdale Chase bank.

Ludtke was not able to say how much money Strickland had taken, as other departments were in charge of most of the investigations. In a Nov. 20 robbery at an Exchange Bank on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa, Strickland made off with around $3,000, Ludtke said.

According to Sonoma County jail records, Strickland is suspected of two counts of burglary, one of robbery and one of attempted robbery. Ludtke said he will likely face more charges as other departments complete their investigations into the previous robberies.

Strickland also was wanted on an unrelated misdemeanor warrant from Mendocino County. Ludtke wasn’t able to say what that warrant was for, but he said Strickland had a “minimal criminal history” outside of the suspected bank robberies.

Ludtke said investigators were close to finding the bank robbery suspect before Tuesday’s arrest. He praised the “effort and cooperation” of all the departments working together to find the suspect.