Crime & Safety

Man Arrested for Bomb Threat and Robbery

Police say the suspect lives with his mother on Pennsylvania Avenue in Los Gatos.

Vadim Liotveyzen, a 28-year-old man whose mother lives in Los Gatos, was arrested and charged with robbery, attempted robbery, extortion and making a bomb threat on Monday, after a police investigation linked him to a series of bomb threats and attempted robberies at two banks, Los Gatos- Monte Sereno police reported.

The investigation took place over the weekend, after Liotveyzen was positively identified in connection with multiple bomb threats and attempted robberies at Chase Bank on Friday and Wells Fargo Bank on Saturday.

Police initially learned of the possible bomb threats on Friday, after the Los Gatos Town Library reported that a man had printed a note from a computer terminal indicating a bomb threat, extortion and robbery at an undisclosed location around 4:53 p.m.

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Police were later able to identity Liotveyzen as a possible suspect through the library's computer sign-in log and photo identification by library staff, which revealed out-of-state residency but showed he had an associated address at a Los Gatos business.

Soon after, at 5:26 p.m., police received word of another possible bomb threat at Chase Bank, at 400 N. Santa Cruz Ave.

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Upon arrival, the bank manager informed police of a letter demanding that $50,000 be delivered to a drop-off location. The letter stated that the package contained an explosive device that would explode in 10 minutes if the money was not delivered.

Responding officers evacuated the bank and surrounding areas, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department bomb team was called in for assistance. The Santa Clara County Fire Department also staged nearby in the case that the bomb exploded.

A sheriff's bomb team deployed a robot, and bomb-team members went inside the bank to examine the supposed bomb, which was later determined to be a brick with wires affixed to it to simulate a bomb, police reported. The scene was deemed safe at around 8:30 p.m.

Then, on Saturday, around 2:25 p.m., police and detectives responded to an in-progress robbery alarm activation at Wells Fargo. Bank personnel informed police that the suspect appeared to be the same man who had previously threatened and robbed the bank on March 17, leaving with an undisclosed amount of money.

Police later conducted a photo lineup of Liotveyzen, where witnesses at Wells Fargo positively identified him as the suspect from the attempted Chase Bank robbery and the March 17 Wells Fargo robbery.

Liotveyzen's identity was further confirmed by more witnesses and bank security cameras.

Police also determined that the simulated explosive devices found at each location were near identical.

On Monday, police determined that Liotveyzen lived at his mother's home on Pennsylvania Avenue after they conducted surveillance operations at the business address associated with his library card.

Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police detectives and patrol personnel took Liotveyzen into custody around 4 p.m. He was booked at the Santa Clara County Jail later that day, after being interviewed by investigators at the Police Operations Center.


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