Police arrested two men from Oakland in connection with recent bank robberies in Lafayette and Orinda. Wilber Onyeakachi, 24, and David Nwaonumah, 30, were arrested after a bank teller positively identified Onyeakachi as the robber. Nwaonumah was identified as the getaway driver.

The most recent robbery occurred at 11:20 Wednesday morning at the Citibank on Orinda Way in Orinda.  The robber, allegedly Onyeakachi, entered the bank and handed the teller a note demanding money. After taking around $3,400, the robber fled the scene in a beige Oldsmobile.

When police found the two men in Oakland, they were sitting in the beige Oldsmobile reported as the getaway car.

The other similar robbery was committed at the Wells Fargo Bank in Lafayette on Nov. 9.

A resident reported around midnight Monday that two women stole a package that had been left on a porch. Police immediately began looking for the suspects in the area near Garden and Laurel lanes.

Police spotted the green Mitsubishi SUV that the resident had reported seeing the women get into. When police arrived, one woman was at the front door of a home claiming she needed to make a phone call.

Police were eventually forced to use pepper spray on one of the women and later found the other hiding in the area.

Police found many items in the vehicle the women were driving that police believe were stolen. The women were taken to the Contra Costa County jail in Martinez where they were booked.

A man escaped from the Wells Fargo in Lafayette with an unconfirmed amount of cash around 11:30 a.m. this morning. After entering the bank, the man handed a teller a note demanding the cash.

The man was last seen running toward the Lafayette BART station where trains were stopped while police searched for the man. Police were unable to find the man.

The man who committed the robbery has been described by police as a black man in his 20s, 5 feet 6 inches tall with dreadlocks and a large scab on the tip of his nose. The robber was seen wearing a blue hat, black-and-blue striped shirt, blue jeans and a red Christmas tie.

The Orinda Police Department made seven arrests during the month of October. Three arrests were made based on arrest warrants. There was one arrest each for the crimes of possession of drugs, sale of marijuana, domestic battery and drunk in public.

Nine burglaries were reported during October, eight of which were auto burglaries. Three incidents of grand theft and one incident of petty theft were reported. Incidents involving vandalism were reported three times. One vehicle was reported stolen, and the police were also able to recover one stolen vehicle.

Police responded to 103 false residential alarms throughout Orinda during October.

The woman that was severely burned during a fire at her home on Descanso Drive in Orinda on Oct. 13 died over the weekend as a result of the burns.

An investigation of the fire by police and fire investigators determined that the fire was intentionally set by the woman using lighter fluid as an accelerant in the master bedroom of her home. A further investigation into the woman’s background revealed she had been experiencing recent personal issues. Investigators believe the woman set the fire intentionally to commit suicide.

Her son who was also home at the time of the fire was able to safely exit the home.

A 43-year-old Orinda man was shot four times in Oakland on Sunday. The man was protecting his friend’s medical marijuana when four men attempted to steal the plants. The Orinda man tried to stop them, but he was shot in the arm, shin, thigh and stomach in the process.

Following the shooting, the Orinda man was rushed to the hospital where he was considered to be in serious but stable condition.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrests of the suspects in the shooting. The police can be reached by calling 510-238-3426.

The name of the victim has not been released.

Acalanes High School is currently on lockdown as police believe a burglar is hiding somewhere in the area.

According to police, a man was burglarizing a home in the neighborhood bordering Acalanes when residents of the home returned. The man fled the scene.

Police have set up a perimeter in the neighborhood and are actively searching for the burglar. Police dogs have been brought in to help with the search.

The school will remain on lockdown until police are able to apprehend the suspect or until the area has been determined to be clear and safe.

Moraga-Orinda Fire District officials had hoped to have the search for a new fire chief wrapped up by the end of September, but they’re well past that unofficial deadline and it’s unclear right now then the district will have a new leader.

The Board of Directors has been meeting with consultants and interviewing candidates for several weeks now. Board President Pete Wilson told me today that the list of candidates is down to three but declined to say much more. The search is being led by consultants Bill Avery and Larry Bienati, who received over 50 applicants for the position. Various stakeholder groups and the board have whittled that number down to where it currently is.

Current Chief Pete Nowicki told me he has not been led to believe they have made a final decision, but added he’s been told not to schedule any more meetings on the issue. He said he would need 3-4 weeks to transfer command of the department to the new chief. His current contract expires Oct. 30, and an extension is on the agenda for Wednesday, so if there’s no announcement of a new chief, how long that extension is could be a clue to how close they are to hiring someone. Under his retirement plan, Nowicki can work as a consultant up to 6 months in a fiscal year, meaning he could potentially work until Dec. 31 since the fiscal year begins July 1.

In somewhat related news, here’s our article about Antioch’s police chief announcing his plans to retire but then come back as a consultant. Nowicki, of course, is “double dipping” as well, and most of the attention focused on the district lately has been on the pension he is drawing concurrently with his salary.

The MOFD meeting is Wednesday at 5 p.m., though it will begin in closed session. It will take place at the fire station at 1280 Moraga Way.

A house fire at 29 Descanso Drive in Orinda on Tuesday was started intentionally, according to police investigators. Evidence of accelerants were found in the home, although police have not yet released the cause of the fire.

A woman and her teenage son were home at the time of the fire. The son escaped the home safely, but the woman required the help of neighbors.

The woman received major second and third degree burns across her body and was rushed to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

The fire caused more than $160,000 in damage to the home.

The names of the family were not immediately released by police.

The Orinda Police Department made 16 arrests in the month of September. Nine alcohol-related arrests were made, including four arrests for driving under the influence, four arrests for drunk in public and one for minor in possession. There was one arrest each for domestic battery, commercial burglary and receiving stolen property.

There were 14 total reports of burglary: seven auto, six residential and one commercial. There were also three reports of grand theft and three reports of petty theft.

Two cases of vandalism were reported, along with a stolen vehicle.

Police also responded to 122 false residential alarms in September.