Atascadero bank robber suspected in two other bank heists

April 22, 2014

Working with the FBI, police in San Luis Obispo County have determine the two suspects arrested Thursday for robbing an Atascadero bank also robbed banks in Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach.

Last week, George Jessie Gonzalez of Santa Maria robbed the Chase Bank in the 8000 block of El Camino Real in Atascadero and then fled in a green vehicle driven by Tonya Michelle Young of Paso Robles. Minutes after the robbery, Atascadero police stopped the get-away vehicle and arrested Young, 33, and Gonzalez, 55.

On Monday, the Arroyo Grande Police Department announced it had connected the Gonzalez to an April 3 robbery of the Bank of America on West Branch Street. Arroyo Grande Police Department detectives, working with the Atascadero Police Department, the Pismo Beach Police Department and the FBI, used video surveillance footage to confirm that Gonzales allegedly used the same vehicle in the Atascadero and Arroyo Grande robberies.

On April 3, Gonzales allegedly entered the Arroyo Grande Bank of America and ordered a bank teller to give him cash while indicating he had a gun, police said.

Pismo Beach police have also recommended robbery charges against Gonzalez for the March 21 robbery of the Bank of America on Dolliver Street.

Officers booked both Gonzalez and Young into San Luis Obispo County Jail on robbery charges with their bail set at $60,000 each.