Cotati Man Arrested In Petaluma Bank Robbery: Police

PETALUMA, CA — A Cotati man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of committing a bank robbery in December in Petaluma, police said.

Mason Brown, 27, was taken into custody during a traffic stop at 5:10 p.m. Thursday in Forestville, Petaluma police Lt. Jermey Walsh said in a news release.

Brown's arrest followed an almost four-month-long investigation that started Dec. 8, 2022, when the Exchange Bank branch in the 400 block of North McDowell Boulevard was robbed for an undisclosed amount of money.

After interviewing witnesses and employees, reviewing video surveillance, and processing crime-scene evidence, Brown was identified as the person responsible, Walsh said.

Following his arrest Thursday, a search warrant was served at Brown's residence in the 400 block of West School Street in Cotati. Detectives and crime scene investigators from the Petaluma Police Department with the assistance of officers from the Cotati Police Department conducted the warrant search and found and removed evidence related to the investigation, Walsh said.

Brown was booked into the Sonoma County jail and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail as of Friday morning. He is due in court Tuesday morning.