San Rafael Robbery Suspect Arrested: Cops

SAN RAFAEL, CA — A 35-year-old Sonoma County man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a robbery that occurred more than three months ago, San Rafael police said.

Luis Roberto Linarte was arrested on suspicion of robbery and a parole violation among other crimes, police said.

Linarte was booked into Marin County jail, police said.

His victim suffered minor injuries, police said.

Officers on Nov. 15 responded to a report of a robbery in progress in the area of the Shamrock Shopping Center on Irwin Street, police said.

Witnesses reported seeing a man forcibly take a woman’s purse and flee in a car toward Lincoln Avenue, police said. The woman suffered minor injuries.

Later in the day, officers learned of fraudulent activity on the victim’s bank cards, police said.

“Detectives worked diligently to obtain video surveillance from both the area where the crime occurred, and where transactions were made involving the victim’s bank cards,” the SRPD said in a statement.

“Through a lengthy investigation, detectives traced the transactions and were able to identify a suspect through surveillance video as Luis Roberto Linarte, a 35-year-old resident of Sonoma.”

Detectives on Tuesday served a search warrant at Linarte’s Sonoma residence, police said.

“This case was largely solved through investigative leads as well as witnesses who called 911 during the crime,” police said.

“The SRPD would like to thank everyone who called 911 as well as the allied agencies who assisted with this investigation.”