Arrest Made In Sonoma County Bank Robbery

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A Rohnert Park man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of robbing a Santa Rosa bank in February, police said.

Christopher Cairati, 41, was taken into custody around 5:50 a.m. Tuesday during the service of warrants at a residence in the 6400 block of Country Club Drive in Rohnert Park. Santa Rosa Police Department SWAT and hostage negotiation team members were on hand to safely serve the warrants, Santa Rosa police Sgt. Brandon Matthies said.

The search of Cairati's residence yielded various narcotics, including suspected methamphetamine, cocaine and anabolic steroids, the sergeant said.

Cairati is suspected of robbing the Exchange Bank branch at 136 Calistoga Road at 12:34 p.m. Feb. 3. The suspect demanded money using a note that indicated he had a gun and would "shoot" the bank teller if she did not hand over the money, Matthies said. At one point the suspect started to lift his shirt when handing over the note, indicating he had a gun, but police still do not know whether he was armed with one.

After he was given an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspect fled on foot and was last seen running southbound on Calistoga Road.

The suspect was described as a white or Hispanic man between 5 feet 4 and 5 feet 6 inches tall with a medium build who was approximately 30 years old. He was wearing a gray button-up, long-sleeved shirt, black gloves, blue pants, black shoes, a New York Yankees baseball hat, and a gray face mask.

Law enforcement searched the area for the suspect but did not locate him. However, articles of clothing he was last seen wearing were found in the vicinity of the robbery, police said.

Over the last couple of months, SRPD Violent Crimes detectives worked to identify the bank robber through various investigative means, including DNA, and according to police were able to identify him as Cairati.

Following his arrest Tuesday, Cairati was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of robbery, possession of narcotics and possession of controlled substances, police said. Jail records were not available Wednesday for Cairati.