Jury finds man guilty in string of East Bay bank robberies

A federal jury convicted a Rohnert Park man Thursday on two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery following a bank robbery spree in the East Bay in January 2021, authorities said.

William Mulligan, 36, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count. His sentencing date in front of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has not been scheduled.

U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, who represents California's Northern District, said in a statement that Mulligan robbed or tried to rob banks in Dublin, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and Concord. Authorities caught him after pulling him over in a white Nissan on Jan. 28, 2021, three days after the last robbery.

At trial, the government proved that Mulligan entered a Bank of America branch in Dublin on Jan. 11, 2021, presented a robbery note to the teller and left with $8,650 in cash, Hinds said.

Exactly two weeks later, on Jan. 25, 2021, Mulligan went into three more banks. Hinds said a teller at a Bank of America in Pleasant Hill refused to give him money. He also came up empty at a Bank of America in Walnut Creek, after the teller retreated to the bank's vault room, she said. Later that day, he left a Wells Fargo in Concord with $1,160 from the teller, according to Hinds.

Mulligan was driving a white Nissan with a black spoiler, distinctive stickers and no license plates when police pulled him over three days later. Hinds said the same car had been seen on surveillance camera footage at the scene of the Dublin and Walnut Creek robberies.

Officers arrested Mulligan after pulling him over. Hinds said they discovered a robbery note in his wallet and that a subsequent search of his car by the FBI revealed clothing worn during all four of the incidents.

Mulligan was remanded into custody pending his sentencing, Hinds said.