Charges files against 2 in Pinole armored car robbery

PINOLE, Calif. -- Prosecutors filed charges this morning against two men believed to have been involved in an armored car robbery in Pinole on Wednesday that led to a shootout and left one person dead and three injured, including a police officer.

Freddie Daniel, 24, of San Pablo, was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit a robbery, prosecutor Harold Jewett said.

The second suspect, 30-year-old William Fuller, was charged with two counts of attempted murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit a robbery.

Fuller will likely be arraigned on the charges this afternoon, but Daniel, who was injured in the shootout, was still in the hospital this morning.

According to police, the incident began shortly after 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at the Wells Fargo bank at 1374 Fitzgerald Drive.

A guard of a Loomis armored vehicle was leaving the bank with a bag of cash when two men assaulted her and attempted to rob her, police said.

The guard resisted and exchanged gunfire with the suspects, police said.

The guard and both suspects were injured. The guard was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in serious but stable condition, police said. The two suspects attempted to flee, but police caught up to one of them, identified as 25-year-old San Pablo resident Pierre Daniel, on Fitzgerald Drive near the bank.

Officers allegedly ordered him not to reach for a gun, but he reached for it anyways and an officer shot him, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

During the confrontation, Pinole police Officer Brian "Justin" Takacs was shot in the left shoulder, police said.

Jewett said it was probable that the bullet that injured Takacs was a ricochet from another officer's gun.

Takacs remained hospitalized today, but is doing well, police said.

While police were investigating the shootings near the bank, Fuller allegedly dropped Freddie Daniel, Pierre Daniel's brother, off at a local hospital with a gunshot wound, where he was arrested.

Pinole police, the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, Richmond police and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office are continuing to investigate the case.

Wells Fargo today announced it is donating $10,000 each to Pinole police and Loomis for their actions in thwarting the robbery attempt.

A $10,000 check will be presented to a Pinole Police Department fund designated to help police officers injured in the line of duty, while another will be presented to a nonprofit chosen by the injured Loomis security guard.

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