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Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested an East Palo Alto woman who is accused in a string of Bay Area bank robberies, including one in Morgan Hill, according to authorities.
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Mary Mapa was arrested and booked at Santa Clara County Jail Aug. 3, after investigators identified her via a fingerprint she left on a pamphlet at one of the banks she robbed, a sheriff’s press release reads.
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Mapa is accused of robbing at least nine banks in the greater Bay Area—specifically in Morgan Hill, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Napa, Manteca, Sunnyvale, San Mateo and Palo Alto, police said.
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Morgan Hill Police confirmed that Mapa is the suspect in the June 17 robbery of Citibank in downtown Morgan Hill, located at 17085 Monterey Road. During that incident, a suspect matching Mapa’s description did not brandish a weapon, but handed the teller a note demanding money, police said. The teller gave the woman an undisclosed amount of cash, and the suspect fled on foot.
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During a robbery in Sunnyvale, Mapa handled a bank pamphlet and a Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety crime scene investigator was able to obtain a fingerprint, authorities said. The suspect was identified and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
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On Aug. 3, sheriff’s deputies conducted surveillance and arrested Mapa at her home in East Palo Alto, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. James Jensen.
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Deputies searched Mapa’s home and found clothing used during the different robberies, cash from one of the banks, a wig and a handgun, police said.
Mapa is accused of brandishing a handgun while demanding money from a teller in the June 3 robbery at HSBC Bank in Cupertino, authorities added.
