Off-Duty Deputy Captures Suspect in 2 Bank Robberies

ORANGE — A man suspected of robbing two banks Friday was chased down and captured by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, police said.

A robber entered the Bank of America, 4825 E. Chapman Ave., about 10:55 a.m., jumped over the teller’s counter, held bank employees at gunpoint and took cash from the registers, Police Lt. Ed Tunstall said.

Witnesses told police they saw the robber jump over a fence and drop part of the stolen money, Tunstall said.

More than two hours later at the Farmers & Merchants Bank, 1220 E. Katella Ave., a robber with a similar description gave a teller a note demanding money. He indicated he had a handgun in his waistband, police said.

After getting the cash, he left the building and was chased by an unidentified bank employee and Jerry Hopkins, a reserve, off-duty officer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, according to a police official. Hopkins stopped Alvin Orlando Williams, 25, of Moreno Valley at gunpoint near the bank.

Williams did not have a gun when he was arrested, Tunstall said.