Wells Fargo Bank robber captured near scene

Anthony Braggs

38-year-old Anthony Braggs is being charged with robbery under PC 211 for entering a San Jose Wells Fargo Bank branch sometime after 1:00 pm on Friday, April 5 and demanding the teller give him money.  Braggs waited in line until he approached a teller and then told them he had a gun, and requested that they put the money in a paper bag.

Braggs entered the Wells Fargo bank located at 181 Branham Lane with hopes of escape once he was able to acquire the money.   However, Braggs was soon found hiding in the bushes located within the Avalon Skyway apartment complex located at 4501 Snell Ave, in San Jose, just minutes away from the crime scene.  The suspect was taken into custody after 4:00 pm when SJPD MERGE and Canine teams found the suspect hiding in the local shrubbery.

Braggs targeted the Wells Fargo Bank

Witnesses said they saw the possible suspect, a heavy build African-American male, run into an apartment complex near the Branham and Snell Plaza shopping center after the robbery. That is when police called to the scene began to quarantine the area to search for the suspect.

A witness to the activity at the scene said, they saw the area near building 35 taped off.  They were told to stay in place and never went outside to see what was going on.  Police had surrounded the area with more than a dozen marked police cars.  Frank Smith, a resident at the complex said, “I was driving away when I saw all the cops.”  Smith said, “We have had a number of break-ins here and that’s what I thought it was.”  A maintenance worker near the scene, Ken Santos said, “I saw cops with their guns drawn telling the suspect to come out.”   SJPD MERGE unit officers moved in and apprehended the suspect without incident.

You can run but you can't hide... Braggs tried to escape by hiding in the bushes at a nearby apartment complex.

Photos Santa Clara Sheriffs, Amy Nilson