DNA match leads to suspect in 2017 Sonoma bank robbery

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Detectives have solved the 2017 robbery of Sonoma’s Umpqua Bank after a DNA hit on a man arrested on drug charges this month in Florida.

William Paul Brust, 32, of Pacifica, is now in the San Francisco jail facing drug and weapons charges. Next stop, the Sonoma County slammer, on a no-bail warrant for bank robbery.

Officials said Brust lived in San Mateo at the time of the September, 2017 heist.  He entered the Umpqua Bank, in the 100 block of W. Napa St. in Sonoma, wearing a gray wig, dark glasses and a black sweatshirt.

Brust passed the teller a note demanding money. After receiving an undisclosed amount, he fled from the bank on foot, scaled a nearby fence and ran away.

The ensuing investigation uncovered the critical clue. A witness had seen the suspect shedding his disguise as he ran from the bank. Deputies found the wig and sunglasses in a nearby garbage can. The items rendered a good DNA sample — but it didn’t match anyone in the DNA database.

The still-unknown suspect remained at large. But the DNA sample stayed in the database for any future matches. On February 6 of this year, it paid off. Brust was arrested in Pinellas County, Florida on counterfeiting and drug charges. His DNA was a match for the bank job.

Additionally, a previous San Mateo County Sheriff’s photo of Brust and the surveillance video from the bank were a match.

Brust has since been transferred to the San Francisco County Jail. After his weapon and drug charges are resolved, he will be transferred to Sonoma County jail.