Bank Robbery Suspect With Vallejo Ties Wanted by FBI After Being Released from Jail

A man with Vallejo ties who is suspected of robbing a Pinole bank earlier this month is wanted by the FBI, despite being locked up just after his alleged crime.

Oakland resident Gary Casdell Fite, Jr., 22, is suspected of jumping over the counter at The Mechanics Bank on Pinole Valley Road in Pinole on March 1 and holding a teller at gunpoint while he grabbed cash from the teller's drawer.

. The Contra Costa Times reports that Fite was "mistakenly released" from jail and is now on the lam.

The Contra Costa Times reported Fite was released because the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department's "authority to hold him, per the California Penal Code, had expired."

He was reportedly released on bail March 8, the same day a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.

Fite has ties to Vallejo, Anitoch and Reno, and may have been spotted in the Sacramento area, the FBI says.

Anyone who sees Fite is asked to call the FBI at 415-553-7400.

The full press release from the FBI follows:

FBI Seeks Public’s Help to Locate an Alleged Pinole Bank Robber

The FBI and the Pinole Police Department are seeking the public’s help in locating a man charged with allegedly robbing The Mechanics Bank located at 2690 Pinole Valley Road in Pinole, Calif. on March 1, 2013.

Gary Casdell Fite, Jr., 22, of Oakland, Calif., was charged with armed bank robbery in a federal complaint and an arrest warrant was also issued.

According to the complaint, on Friday, March 1, 2013 at about 4:30 p.m., The Mechanics Bank on Pinole Valley Road was robbed by an unknown male. Witnesses described the suspect as a black male, wearing a tan baseball cap, blue jeans jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt, carrying a black bag over his shoulder and brandishing a black semi-automatic handgun.

The suspect entered the bank and jumped over the bank teller counter. During the robbery, the robber pointed a firearm at a victim teller’s head and verbally demanded money. The victim teller, fearing for their safety and the safety of others, provided the robber with a sum of money. The suspect took the money and ran out the front door of the bank in an unknown direction.

After an investigation, Fite, Jr. was identified as the suspect. He was charged with armed bank robbery in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in Oakland on March 8, 2013. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Fite, Jr. on the same date.

Fite, Jr. is a male, black, 22 years of age, 5’8” tall and weighs about 180 lbs. He has black hair and brown eyes. He also has ties to Reno, Nevada and Oakland, Antioch and Vallejo, California.The FBI can be reached 24 hours a day at 415-553-7400 in the San Francisco area. All calls are confidential.

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