Arrest Made In 2 Walnut Creek Robberies

WALNUT CREEK, CA — A Fairfield man was arrested Friday in connection with two recent robberies in Walnut Creek, police announced Tuesday.

The first robbery happened at 3:15 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 in the parking lot of Burger King, 1799 N. Broadway. The victim called 911 and said he was sitting in his car when two men wearing masks and gloves walked up. One of the suspects brandished a dark-colored handgun and forcibly took the victim's wallet and jewelry, police said.

The suspects left in a white car.

The victim suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

Police did not disclose details of the second robbery other than to say it happened Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Autopia Car Wash, 2172 N. Main St. in Walnut Creek.

On Friday, Walnut Creek police detectives and the Central County SWAT team served a search warrant in Fairfield and arrested Malcolm Anthony Hale, 27, on suspicion of both robberies.

Detectives recovered an AR-15 rifle during the search.

Hale was booked into the county jail in Martinez jail on several charges, including two counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, illegal possession of an assault weapon, prohibited to own ammunition and felon in possession of a firearm.

At the time of publication, Hale remained in custody without bail.

Police also said Tuesday that detectives were actively following up on investigative leads regarding other recent downtown robberies. Police said anyone with information regarding the two aforementioned robberies or any other incident to call Walnut Creek PD at 925-943-5844 or the department's anonymous tip line at 925-943-5865.