Former Chef Arrested for Multiple Bank Robberies

California State Police arrested a former chef and restaurant owner on Wednesday for allegedly robbing three banks in a single day.

Valentino Routine faces charges including two counts of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery linked to incidents that occurred on September 10, as stated by the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). Previously, Routine served as the executive chef at Rose Pistra in San Francisco’s North Beach, and he also founded Otabio Osteria in Walnut Creek, which closed down in 2016.

According to reports, police responded to a robbery at a bank on Grant Avenue, where a man handed a note to the teller demanding cash. The staff complied, and the suspect fled. Two additional robberies followed in the Central District that same day, with authorities noting similar methods in these incidents. Thanks to the efforts of SFPD ambassadors and community support, they identified Routine as the suspect. He was subsequently arrested and taken to the San Francisco County Jail, as per the press release.

This wasn’t Routine’s first encounter with the law regarding bank thefts; he was previously arrested in 2018 on suspicion of armed robbery. During that incident, he reportedly expressed feelings of “despair” over financial struggles. “I thought it was a good plan,” he stated from prison, reflecting on his past actions. “But it wasn’t.”

Witnesses described him as wearing a black hoodie, sunglasses, and white gloves when he targeted a Citibank in Orinda, pretending to wield a semi-automatic pistol during the demand for cash. Routine clarified, “My actions were not aggressive. It was a fake gun. I don’t even know how to load a real gun.” He also mentioned having written an apology letter to a teller involved in that robbery.

At the time of the 2018 incident, Routine and his wife were reportedly over $1 million in debt after failing to meet obligations tied to their Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, with only $27,000 worth of assets to their name.