Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home police arrested two persons on Saturday, Dec. 29, in connection with the Dec. 20 armed robbery of the Sweet Home branch of Umpqua Bank.
Arrested were John Walter Cerruti, 45, and Melissa Anne Avila, 36. Each was charged with first-degree robbery with a firearm and third-degree theft.
The arrests followed shortly after police served a search warrant on the suspects’ 2000 Pontiac Montana and apartment, 2118 Main St., said Police Chief Bob Burford. The two were taken into custody during a high-risk traffic stop on Highway 20 near Dew Road, just west of Sweet Home.
INVESTIGATORS talk with neighbors and search the property Saturday morning at the suspects’ home.
At approxi-mately 9:30 a.m., westbound traffic on Highway 20 was closed for approximately 15 minutes while police stopped and arrested the suspects.
They were initially charged with the theft of a donation jar full of cash from the Sweet Home Public Library on Nov. 19, Burford said. The donations were among those being saved to fund a stained glass window project. Police have not released how much money was stolen in the bank robbery.
Officers initially contacted the suspects on Friday, Burford said. They obtained a search warrant early Saturday morning and had surveillance on the suspects.
When the suspects drove west out of Sweet Home on Highway 20, the police decided to make the stop, Burford said. They were charged with the theft initially. Later in the day, they were charged with the robbery.
Police had been searching for the van throughout the week, trying to match it to information they had available, Burford said.
“We have good video surveillance from multiple businesses that capture the suspects before, during and after the incident,” Burford said. “We believe we have a good timeline indicating that the suspect was dropped off from a vehicle, went into the bank and then fled from the bank.”
The suspects had not been in Sweet Home for long, Burford said. Avila was from the Ontario area, and Cerruti was from California.