Crime & Safety
Alleged ‘Cotton Ball Bandit’ Makes First Court Appearance, Delays Plea
Suspect has only been charged with one bank robbery but four other alleged heists tied to him have been forwarded to DA.
By James Lanaras
Bay City News Service
A Larkspur man was charged today with robbing a Novato bank last week and is also now suspected of robbing at least four other banks in the county.
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Christopher Jay Wootton, 60, is also suspected in robberies at the Union Bank at 800 Old Redwood Highway in Mill Valley on Jan. 22; the Citibank at 101 Tiburon Blvd. in Mill Valley on Aug. 22; the Redwood Credit Union at 209 Third St. in San Rafael on Sept. 4; and the Wells Fargo Bank at 600 Las Gallinas Ave. in San Rafael on Oct. 30.
San Rafael police and the Marin County Sheriff's Office have sent information on the other bank robberies to the Marin County District Attorney's Office for review and charges.
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San Rafael police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher said this week four law enforcement agencies in the county are investigating whether Wootton is the "Cotton Ball Bandit" who robbed 11 banks since December 2012. So far Wootton is charged only with the robbery of the Bank of the West at 1313 Grant Ave. in Novato on Dec. 13.
NBC news on Dec. 12 confirmed that Wootton is the “Cotton Ball Bandit.”
Wootton also is charged with evading police by driving recklessly, two counts of assault with a firearm on a peace officer and being a felon in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle.
He did not enter a plea at his arraignment and his next court date is Dec. 27.
He is being held under $2 million bail in the county jail.
Wootton was shot by a Marin County Sheriff's Deputy Donald Carpenter, a 7-year veteran, after a pursuit from the Novato bank.
A sheriff's deputy followed the Novato bank robber's silver Saturn on U.S. Highway 101 and San Rafael streets until the Saturn crashed into a light pole in the 600 block of Las Gallinas Avenue near the Northgate Mall, San Rafael police said.
Wootton got out of the car and ran across the street with a gun in his hand, Rohrbacher said. He suffered non-life-threatening injuries when Carpenter shot him. He was released from Marin General Hospital Tuesday afternoon.
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