On December 30, 2022 Christian Plummer robbed a Wells Fargo bank at Geary & Arguello in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond district. He had been released from jail just 39 days earlier having been convicted of a string of bank robberies in the city in 2021 where he threatened to shoot tellers in the face.
Plummer was arrested for bank robbery twice in 2021 but granted pre-trial release from custody on both occasions, leaving him immediately free to commit further robberies.
On February 4 & 5, 2021 he robbed Golden One Credit Union on Golden Gate Avenue and Chase on Van Ness Avenue. He was arrested by SFPD then bailed. Then on March 16. 2021, he robbed Wells Fargo bank on Fillmore where he threatened to “detonate myself or shoot someone”. He was arrested again but one September 22, 2021 he was released again on bail. He then proceeded to commit three more bank robberies on October 1, 4 & 7, 2021.
By that point federal prosecutors took over, but the pattern continued. On October 22, 2022 Plummer was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen. In practice, however, he was freed on November 23, 2022. Five weeks later he committed the latest robbery.
“The Government recommends a below-guidelines sentence of 24 months” wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy Garbers, who explained to the court that the defendant’s mental health problems, drug addiction and homelessness were factors supporting the proposed sentence.
Mr Plummer’s public defender Angela Chuang told the court that her client moved from New Jersey to San Francisco in 2020. He ended up homeless and using methamphetamine. She said that “[his] defense team has created a reentry plan tailored to his individual needs…[and] is committed to guiding Mr Plummer throughout his reentry in order to ensure that he is able to access the services that he needs.”
The criminal complaint details the impact that Plummer’s trail of havoc had on bank staff – from a Chase teller “fearing that the individual would hurt him” to a Citibank teller “fearing for her life” because of threats of using firearms and bombs.
Plummer is currently in custody and next scheduled to appear before Judge Chen in District Court in San Francisco on May 4 2023 at 9:30am for a ‘change of plea’ hearing.
Read the full Motion to Detain from March 2022 which details a number of Plummer’s robberies.
To be notified when new stories are published, please enter your email address below or follow us on Twitter.