Six Manteca Police officers responding to a late Monday afternoon bank robbery at the downtown Wells Fargo branch were able to arrest the suspect within minutes after a short foot chase.
David Leech, 35, of Manteca was arrested on bank robbery charges and evading officers.
The incident started shortly before 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Bank at the corner of Main and Center Streets where a suspect was making off with envelopes of cash.
Officers essentially had him surrounded before he ran from the bank.  The security guard had reportedly locked the entrance doors which gave officers a little more time, they said.
Motorcycle officer John Machado was approaching the scene from the north with lights and siren sounding along with other units that had come from different parts of the city.  As Machado reached the intersection by the bank he laid down his motorcycle on the sidewalk alongside a furniture store and took cover.  Seeing a gathering of customers watching the police activity at the bank and learning that the suspect was still inside, Machado ran across Main Street shouting at the small crowd to get back and get away from the bank.  They started running up Main and across Center Street.
Other police cars pulled into the south side parking lot as the suspect ran out the bank’s door to find he was being chased by half a dozen peace officers that came out of a shift change that doubled their strength on the street.
The suspect ran through the bank parking lot and attempted to cross Center Street with the majority of the officers behind him as he ran into the approaching motorcycle officer who had run back to get his unit off the sidewalk.  Several of the officers returned to their cars as well and headed off the alleged robber on Center between Grant and Lincoln.
Manteca Police officer Christopher Stocks — a recent transfer from the Stockton Police Department —was closing in on his foot pursuit when the man attempted to jump the back fence at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Center Street failing to clear it.  Officers said that gave them a little extra time to catch up as he ran to the north side and jumped the fence there,  running to a stairway at a back yard apartment complex – where he was cornered and put into handcuffs. 
The suspect and the officers were uninjured in the incident.  Leech was transported to the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp

To contact Glenn Kahl, email gkahl@mantecabulletin.com