Crime & Safety

Pacifica Man Accused of Bank Robbery Appears in Court for a Hearing

Investigators identified a San Francisco cop from Pacifica as the suspect based on video surveillance and fingerprints found on the demand note.

By Bay City News Service

A San Francisco sheriff's deputy is set to appear in court on Wednesday for a hearing to determine whether he will stand trial on charges that he robbed a bank in the city's Outer Richmond neighborhood last year.

Philip Chun Tong, 37, faces felony robbery and commercial burglary charges related to the robbery at a Bank of America branch at 3701 Balboa St. on Nov. 7, 2012.

Tong also faces a felony grand theft of a firearm charge in a separate case that will also be considered at the preliminary hearing, scheduled for Wednesday morning at the San Francisco Hall of Justice, district attorney's office spokesman Alex Bastian said.

Court records show that Tong, a Pacifica resident, filed for bankruptcy earlier in 2012.

The suspect in the bank robbery entered the Bank of America and handed a teller a note demanding money. He was given about $1,700 in cash and fled on foot, prosecutors said.

Investigators identified Tong as the suspect via video surveillance and his fingerprints, which were found on the demand note, according to the district attorney's office.

Tong was arrested nine days later and was suspended without pay by the sheriff's department.

Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. — Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.


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