SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Police Department arrested Lloyd Banks, 64, of San Francisco for his involvement in 13 armed robberies that transpired in the region. According to the SFPD, the series of armed commercial robberies were primarily focused in the Market Street corridor.
The first robbery occurred on the 600 block of Van Ness Avenue on May 1, at approximately 8:50 p.m. For the next 8 weeks, 11 other liquor stores, restaurants and other commercial establishments were targeted by Banks. Members of the Night Investigations Unit and Robbery Detail discovered the cases were connected because of the distinctive appearance of the elderly suspect and his silver revolver.
Investigators from the Robbery Detail worked with patrol and street crimes officers at the district stations to locate and arrest Banks before he could commit another robbery. On June 29, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Banks struck on the 2300 block 16th Street. Patrol officers from Mission Station were fully briefed on the series and located the suspect and placed him under arrest near the intersection of 18th and Bryant Streets. A replica handgun was retrieved from the suspect at the time of his arrest.
Banks was charged with 37 felonies stemming from the series of robberies. Due to pending identification matters, Banks’ booking photo is not being released at this time. The SFPD is still investigating the case. Anyone with details on any of the armed robberies is asked to contact the SFPD 24 hour tip line at (415) 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
