SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The San Francisco Police Department has announced the suspect in a series of brazen convenience store robberies has been arrested. The arrest is connected to three robberies earlier this year, beginning in January, according to an SFPD news release.
Officers from Taraval Station responded to an incident on Feb. 7 at around 1 p.m. to a call for a robbery that had just occurred at a gas station on the 900 block of Ocean Avenue. Upon arriving on the scene, the victim informed officers that an unknown man came into the store and after other customers left, put a candy bar on the counter as if he was ready to buy it.
When the victim opened the cash register, the suspect walked behind the counter, pointed a gun at the victim and took the money from the cash register. The suspect fled south on Harold Avenue.
At the time of the incident, the SFPD Robbery Unit was already investigating a similar incident from Jan. 6 at a gas station on Potrero Avenue, police said.
The next incident occurred on Feb. 16 when investigators were informed of a robbery that occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m. at a business on the 1500 block of Revere Avenue. Investigators identified the suspect in all three robberies as Frank Bennett, 60, of San Francisco.
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Investigators developed probable cause to arrest Bennett for the robberies and took him into custody on Feb. 16 without incident on the 300 block of El Camino Real in San Bruno. Police say that when they searched Bennett’s home on Beatrice Lane in San Francisco, they discovered a loaded firearm, ammunition, cash, and clothing and accessories believed to have been worn during the robberies.
Bennett was taken to SF County Jail where he was booked for three counts of robbery, three counts of commission of a crime with a firearm and three counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. SFPD says Bennett is subject to further charges pending the investigation of his involvement in additional robberies in San Francisco and San Mateo County.
The investigation remains ongoing, police said.
