Crime & Safety
Alleged Umpqua Bank Robber Arrested at Napa Shopping Center
Napa County Sheriff's deputy spots suspect just as dispatchers make broadcast.
A 39-year-old Fairfield man was arrested this afternoon on suspicion of robbery at Umpqua Bank in Napa.
Michael Edward Baker was taken into custody after being spotted by an alert Napa County Sheriff's deputy at a Napa shopping center following the incident at the bank at 305 Soscol Ave., police said.
Police said Baker entered the Umpqua Bank at 12:12 p.m. Tuesday and demanded money from the teller. The frightened teller complied with Baker’s demand and gave him an undisclosed amount of money, police said. Baker left the bank with the money.
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As the broadcast was being made, a Napa County Sheriff’s deputy was leaving a nearby restaurant in the South Napa Market Place and heard the broadcast description of the robbery suspect.
At that exact moment, he saw Baker walking past him, police said. Baker matched the description. Baker was detained by the deputy and allegedly made a spontaneous statement admitting to the robbery of the bank.
Witnesses to the robbery positively identified Baker as the suspect in the robbery, police said.
Baker was taken into custody and booked into Napa County Department of Corrections.
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This case is still under investigation.
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