Donation in Honor of Police Officers Involved in Arrest of the Broken Nose Bandit
04/03/08
(L to R) Sara Romano, Operations Supervisor and Cristina Valdovinos, Financial Center Manager for the Meriwest Credit Union branch on Cottle Road with Sgt. Merlin Newton and Det. Mark Pineda of the SJPD. Both Ms. Romano and Ms. Valdovinos were present during the robbery and wished to personally thank the officers for their work in the investigation and eventual arrest of the suspect. |
SAN JOSE, CA - Meriwest Credit Union, one of the largest credit unions serving Silicon Valley, the Greater Bay Area and Tucson, Arizona, announced today that they have presented a donation of $2,500 to the San Jose Police Athletic League to honor the San Jose Police Department's officers who were involved in the investigation and apprehension of the suspected "Broken Nose Bandit." Investigating Detective Mark Pineda and the arresting officer, Sgt. Merlin Newton, along with Assistant Chief Dan Katz, Captain Pete Decena, and Lt. Rick Martinez of the Robbery Unit were present when Meriwest CEO Christopher Owen and Board Chairman Richard Alves presented the donation to the officers.
The suspected "Broken Nose Bandit" robbed four other banks in the San Jose area before robbing the Meriwest Credit Union Financial Center on Cottle Road in San Jose on February 21st. On February 22nd, after receiving multiple tips due to a high quality image of the suspect made by Meriwest's state of the art digital security system, Police Sgt. Merlin Newton arrested the suspect after a traffic stop. "Meriwest truly appreciates the difficult and often dangerous work our police department performs in service to the community," said Meriwest Credit Union CEO Christopher Owen. "This donation to the San Jose Police Athletic League is given in honor of Detective Mark Pineda, the investigating officer, and Sgt. Merlin Newton, the officer who apprehended the suspect. Their sharp police work and quick thinking were responsible for taking this criminal off the street."
"Capturing criminals is what we do to protect and to serve the citizens of San Jose," said Asst. Chief Dan Katz, "We appreciate what Meriwest has done here to honor the officers with this donation to PAL. It is our pleasure to accept this $2,500 on behalf of the youth supported through the San Jose Police Athletic League."
Asst. Chief Dan Katz and Meriwest CEO Christopher Owen both agreed that it took a team of people from the financial industry and the police force in order to capture the "Broken Nose Bandit." Credit Unions in the Silicon Valley region have developed a committee called the "Security Alert Group", to expand information sharing about various security threats and criminal activities that affect their businesses. In the case of a robbery of a credit union branch, the organizations will immediately share specific data with the other credit unions in the area with the hope that dissemination of the photos, method of operation, and other characteristics of the perpetrators will help law enforcement to make a quick arrest.
(L to R) Christopher Owen, CEO of Meriwest Credit Union, Richard Alves, Board Chairman of Meriwest Credit Union, Cristina Valdovinos, Financial Center Manager of the Meriwest Cottle Road location, Sgt. Merlin Newton, SJPD, Det. Mark Pineda, SJPD Robbery Detail, and Asst. Chief Dan Katz. |
About Meriwest Credit Union
Meriwest Credit Union, one of Silicon Valley's largest and established financial institutions, has been providing proactive, personal, convenient and innovative financial services to more than 90,000 businesses and families throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Tucson, Arizona, for more than 46 years. More information can be found at www.meriwest.com
Contact:
Meriwest Credit Union
Gregory Meyer
Community Relations Manager
408-365-6328
gmeyer@meriwest.com
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