Alert BART Police Officer arrests wanted bank robber

BART Police Officers remain vigilant and alert to criminal activity, even at one of the busiest stations during the holiday season. BART Police contact with a fare evader at Powell Street Station earlier this week resulted in an arrest of a wanted bank robber who escaped from Lompoc prison.

On November 25, 2012, a BART Police Officer spotted a man forcing open the orange fare gate to enter the station without paying his fare. He stopped the fare evader based on this violation and, following police procedures, conducted a records check on the individual. He discovered that 40-year-old Buchon Buchanan was not only violating BART rules, Buchanan had an outstanding felony, no-bail arrest warrant issued against him by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Because Buchanan made the mistake of breaking the law under the watchful eye of this BART Police Officer, not only did he receive a citation for violation of 640 (c) (1) PC-fare evasion, he was arrested under the warrant and later booked at the San Francisco County Jail.

“Often times these seemingly minor violations reveal suspects who are in fact wanted for other more serious criminal activity,” BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey said. “In 2011 our officers were able to serve over $10 million in outstanding local, state, and federal warrants.”

Through the vigilance of BART’s dedicated Police personnel and alert customers, BART is hoping to continue to increase the number of arrests of persons with outstanding warrants with the goal to decrease crimes on BART property and in the communities BART serves.