Andrew Baima, 56, allegedly robbed a bank before he was killed last month. He had recently been released from prison for a 2012 bank robbery on the same street.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The man shot and killed by Sacramento police officers after allegedly robbing a bank last month had recently been released from prison, where he served a full sentence for a 2012 bank robbery on the same street.
Andrew Anthony Baima, 56, died from the shooting incident that began Jan. 29 along the 1600 block of Response Road, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office. Police said they responded to the area for a report of a bank robbery in progress.
Criminal records show Baima went to prison for robbing a bank on June 29, 2012, along the 1600 block of Response Road. He was released to parole supervision on June 3, 2025, after serving his full sentence as defined by law, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
In a 2014 letter Baima wrote to a family member, also obtained via Sacramento County Superior Court criminal records, he said the days spent robbing banks were some of the most free he had felt.
“…Believe me I’m not proud of all that’s in my past, but as far as a life of crime, I think that was what I was destined for…,” Baima wrote in 2014, the same year he was sentenced. “…I always loved competition and all the odds being against me. I know had I grown up somewhere back east, I would have been part of some kind of mob where I killed, robbed, and extorted, and spent the other portion enjoying life. That’s basically just how I’m built. Life was just a game to me, and that’s what it always will be…”
What happened last month?
The Sacramento Police Department communications center received a call at approximately 4:20 p.m. Jan. 29 for a bank robbery in progress along the 1600 block of Response Road, according to narrated video and audio released Friday by law enforcement.
In an audio recording, the initial 911 caller identified themself as a bank employee. They said they were on break when the crime occurred, but saw a teller hand the till to a suspect.
Next, officers said they arrived at the bank and spoke with staff. In the video, employees can be heard describing the suspect’s appearance: an older gentleman with dirty blond hair, a backpack, and a green jacket with a blue long-sleeved shirt underneath.
An officer asks: “Did he have any weapons?”
“He claimed he had a gun,” an employee tells police in the video. “He had his hand in his backpack, saying just not to give him a big deal, that he’d shoot us up if we didn’t.”
A person matching the suspect description was reportedly located in the area running near the 1800 block of Exposition Boulevard. This person was later identified as Baima.
In the video, officers appear to pursue Baima as he runs south toward Exposition Boulevard. He is shown running across the street, first across westbound Exposition Boulevard, then across eastbound traffic. Two officers chase Baima with their guns drawn as he approaches a sidewalk. Two more officers then join the pursuit.
Police are heard yelling. “Get on the ground!” “Put it down!” “Drop it!”
In video, Baima does not appear to comply.
One officer then shouts: “Gun in his hand!”
While running Baima appears to raise his right arm, pointing a dark-colored object in his hand at law enforcement.
Two officers then fired their weapons, police said. In the recordings, approximately six shots are heard.
Baima falls to the ground, and the dark object he is holding clatters to the ground several feet away, the video shows.
Previously, police said officers struck the suspect at least once. They reportedly rendered CPR and medical aid until Sacramento Fire Department crews arrived. Baima was then taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Sacramento Police Department.
No officers or community members were injured, according to law enforcement.
Police said they later determined Baima had an “imitation firearm,” meaning it is not capable of firing real ammunition. Exposition Boulevard was closed while police collected evidence.
What happened in 2012?
Approximately 13 years and seven months before Baima was shot and killed, he robbed a bank around 1:30 p.m. June 29, 2012, along the 1600 block of Response Road, criminal records show.
A woman working as a bank teller was approached by Baima, who reportedly mumbled something she could not understand.
She attempted to clarify with him, records say.
Baima then said, “Give me your top drawer.”
He lifted up his shirt with one of his hands and showed her a semi-automatic pistol that was silver on top and black on the bottom.
The woman grabbed the bills for $20, $10, $5 and $1, and some $100 bills, per criminal records. She started to give him the $50 bills when Baima told her, “That’s it.”
Baima took the money from the woman and walked out the front door of the bank, records say.
He was captured on video surveillance.
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