Brothers held in bank-robbery spree

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Here is KTVU crime reporter Henry Lee's Rap Sheet blog for March 27, 2017:

BANK ROBBERY SUSPECTS HELD - Two brothers have been arrested and charged in connection with a spree of East Bay armed bank robberies in which one of the siblings wore a mask and security-guard jacket, court records show.

Alameda County prosecutors have charged Russell Bartlow, 53 and his brother, Jerron Bartlow, 36, for their alleged roles in five bank robberies in Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland and Fremont between November and March. The total take was at least $39,000.

Russell Bartlow is on federal probation for bank robbery.

The first holdup happened at the Chase Bank in Oakland's Montclair neighborhood on Nov. 19. Authorities said the elder Bartlow, while wearing a security jacket, robbed the bank of $11,090.

The next robbery happened at a Citibank in Alameda on Dec. 10. The total haul was $17,130.

On Jan. 23, the Bank of the West in Oakland's Montclair neighborhood was robbed of $3,735.

On Feb. 9, the Chase Bank on Solano Avenue in Berkeley was robbed of $7,650.

The last bank robbery happened March 18 in Fremont.

After the second robbery in Oakland's Montclair, police found video surveillance after showing the robber - without his mask - getting into the passenger side of a white Dodge Challenger with distinctive dark racing stripes.

Investigators learned that Oakland police had stopped a car with that description in East Oakland on Jan. 28, five days after one of the robberies. The car was registered to and driven by Jerron Bartlow, police said. But the officer was unable to complete a records check of the younger Bartlow or the car, and he was let go with a warning, authorities said.

Detectives conducting surveillance saw Jerron Bartlow's Dodge parked at his home and at one point saw Russell Bartlow pull up in a Toyota SUV.

Police found work schedules for Russell Bartlow and learned that he was off work during four of the five robberies, authorities said. In the fifth case, he went to work after holding up a bank, investigators said.

A search of the home uncovered a security jacket , clothing and two guns, authorities said.

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