Detectives arrested two west county men for the Nov. 12 robbery of Forestville’s Bank of the West, according to a Nov. 18 press release from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Sebastopol resident Paul Privitt, 44, and 48-year-old Robert Partridge of Guerneville were booked into the Sonoma County Jail for the felonies of conspiracy, robbery and burglary. Privitt is not in custody anymore, having posted his bail set at $50,000 bail.
The Sheriff’s Deputies headed to the bank on Front Street close to noon on Nov. 12. “Patridge handed the teller a note demanding money, and Privitt acted as a lookout,” according to the announcement.
Surveillance video documented the two men in a business parking lot close by, “driving a maroon Chevrolet Silverado” and walking to the bank, then showed deputies that the men left the bank in the vehicle after the robbery.
Its license plate number revealed Patridge as the registered owner, recognized by one deputy “from a prior law enforcement contact,” the press release said.
The officers caught and detained Patridge driving the Chevrolet Silverado on River Road at 4:31 p.m. He is identified to have been convicted of a felony before and barred from having or or owning guns, which were found in his Guerneville residence after Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime detectives provided a search warrant, the press release said.
His bail was set for $200,000. The notice said detectives arrested Privitt on Wednesday, Nov. 17 on High School Road and took him to the Sonoma County Jail. He isn’t in custody anymore now that he posted his $50,000 bail.
The Sheriff’s Office did not specify how much money the two men stole from the bank, if any, nor what may have been recovered since then.
