POLICE: Former Los Altos cop shoots self after holding up bank

Police suspect cop may have been gunman in local holdup Nov. 18

by Vicky Anning

A gunman who held up the Bank of America on Sand Hill Road on Nov. 18 may be the same man Fremont police say shot himself last Wednesday after a bungled bank holdup, according to the FBI. Dennis Anthony Volarvich, 44, a San Jose resident, was a police officer in Los Altos for 11 years and worked as an investigator with Santa Clara County's District Attorney's Office from 1985 until 1993. He reportedly lost his job after becoming romantically involved with the widow in a murder case he was investigating.

Last Wednesday, Volarvich robbed a Bank of America in the Warm Springs area of Fremont, and allegedly shot himself in the chin after a police chase. He reportedly was wearing a black motorcycle helmet and gloves and carrying a semiautomatic handgun.

The FBI and Menlo Park police are investigating the possibility that Volarvich is the same suspect as the robber who walked into the 2180 Sand Hill Road branch of Bank of America just before 1 p.m. on Nov. 18 wearing black clothing and a black motorcycle helmet, also brandishing a silver semiautomatic handgun. The suspect in that robbery at the Sharon Heights Shopping center, was last seen leaving in a tan-colored Toyota truck and was described as a 40- to 50-year-old man.

"We're investigating whether there was any connection," said FBI Special Agent Bob Griego. "It seems logical for us to review all bank robberies with similar clothing and similar activities."

Griego said that a connection between Volarvich and the robberies was "likely," but said that the FBI is still conducting its investigation.

The FBI had been looking into the possibility that the suspect in the Nov. 18 incident was involved in two other local robberies over the past several months, including the Nov. 4 robbery of the Great Western Bank in Portola Valley and the July 23 robbery of the Bank of America in Los Altos, according to Det. Ed Estrada of the Menlo Park Police Department.

Back up to the Table of Contents Page