A 55 year-old bank robbery suspect wanted in connection with five robberies, spanning from Fremont to southern California, was identified and arrested in partnership with several law enforcement agencies last week.
On October 25, 2018, at approximately 3:20 p.m., the Fremont Police Department received a 911 call from an employee at Wells Fargo Bank, located in the 39200 block of Paseo Padre Pkwy., indicating they were victims of a bank robbery that had occurred ten minutes prior. Fremont patrol officers arrived at the location within minutes and confirmed a bank teller had been robbed via a demand note. The suspect was described as a white male adult, approximately 50-60 years old, clean shaven with short grey colored hair and a slender build. He was wearing a green and black baseball cap, a white button up shirt, and baggy black cargo pants that ended above the ankle. Despite sending additional officers to search the area, the suspect was not located. The case was assigned to Fremont Police Robbery Detective Steven Nordseth.
Detective Nordseth contacted the Wells Fargo corporate security office and began working with the agent assigned to the Fremont robbery. On October 30, 2018, the duo learned the suspect was also responsible and wanted in connection with four recent Wells Fargo robberies that had taken place in Southern California. Based on evidence in one of the southern California robberies, a suspect vehicle was identified as a black 2018 Nissan Sentra with no license plates attached.
With this lead, Detective Nordseth began reviewing video footage from community cameras located at the ingress and egress routes that the suspect may have traveled on day of the Fremont robbery. While scouring through video footage, Detective Nordseth located a similar vehicle traveling eastbound on Mowry Avenue, just east of Interstate 880. The vehicle appeared to be consistent with the suspect vehicle, with the only difference being a “Mission Hills Nissan” paper plate affixed to the rear of the vehicle. An internet search revealed Mission Hills, CA was within the greater Los Angeles area and close in proximity to the four southern California robberies that had taken place.
A search warrant was authored requesting the car dealership to release the personal information of anyone one who purchased a similar vehicle within the last year. On November 13, 2018, Detective Nordseth received the results of the Mission Hills Nissan search warrant which included the purchase records for approximately 130 vehicles matching the suspect vehicle description. Using the suspect description from the various robberies, Detective Nordseth narrowed the list of purchasers down based on age, and individually compared DMV photographs with several surveillance images from various robberies. This resulted in the identification of possible suspect, Mark Gay, a 55 years old Granada Hills resident. Through the tracking capabilities on Mark Gay’s vehicle, historical data showed his car was in the immediate area during four of the five robberies, including the Fremont incident. Based on the evidence gathered, Detective Nordseth authored a warrant for the arrest of Mark Gay, which was granted within Alameda County.
On November 20, 2018, a joint arrest operation was conducted by Fremont Police Detectives, the FBI, and the Simi Valley Police Department in an attempt to locate, arrest, and interview suspect Mark Gay. Mark Gay was located and arrested without incident in Los Angeles. Evidence was collected from Mark Gay’s vehicle which corroborated his involvement in the robberies. During a mirandized interview, Mark Gay provided a tearful admission to all of the robberies under investigation. On November 23, 2018, Fremont officers drove back down to Los Angeles and took custody of Mark Gay. He was transported to Alameda County and booked on charges of robbery at Santa Rita Jail.
Fremont Police Lieutenant Mike Tegner stated, “This investigation is a perfect example of multiple agencies working together to identify, locate, and arrest a serious offender.”
Mark Gay remains in custody with the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office, awaiting his next court proceeding scheduled for November 29, 2018.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to please call the Fremont Police Department’s Investigative Unit at 510-790-6900 or send an anonymous tip by texting ‘TIP FREMONTPD’ followed by your short message to 888-777, or via the web at https://local.nixle.com/tip/alert/6216337.
