Man turned in by dad in San Mateo bank robbery to go to trial

Bank robbery suspect Mohannad Shehadeh was turned in by his father after seeing these surveillance pictures Bank robbery suspect Mohannad Shehadeh was turned in by his father after seeing these surveillance pictures Photo: San Mateo Police Photo: San Mateo Police Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Man turned in by dad in San Mateo bank robbery to go to trial 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A man turned in by his father in connection with a San Mateo bank robbery will go to trial, a judge has ruled.

Mohannad Shehadeh, 21, will appear in San Mateo County Superior Court later this month to enter a plea in the Dec. 22 holdup of the Wells Fargo Bank at 2950 El Camino Real, across the street from his home, authorities said.

Police said Shehadeh walked into the bank on Dec. 22 and handed a teller a note reading, “I have a gun, give me all the money in the drawer.”

The teller was handing over money when Shehadeh grabbed it, police said.

Police released surveillance pictures of the suspect on social media, issuing an alert reading, “Handcuffs for Christmas? Help us catch this bank robber!” The release continued, “Why not help SMPD take a name off of Santa’s naughty list and help us catch this greedy bank robber?”

Shehadeh’s father saw the alert and called police “out of concern for his son’s safety and possible drug addiction,” said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Shehadeh denied committing the robbery after his arrest, Wagstaffe said.

But at a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Judge Elizabeth Hill said there was enough evidence to send the case to trial. Shehadeh remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee