Federal grand jury indicts 11 in West Coast bank robbery spree

FRESNO, Calif. (CN) — The string of West Coast bank thefts could have come straight from a hit action flick. After casing out an adjacent building during the day, robbers return at night to cut a hole in the wall and access ATMs.

Renting shortterm vacation properties and obtaining cars on the black market, the thieves target nearby ATMs. They don construction-crew outfits, using blowtorches and cellphone jammers to get inside the machines and escape with the money.

But this wasn’t a movie — it was a real-life crime spree that lasted from May through October. And by the time it ended, officials with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California said the thieves had hit 29 banks and credit unions, pilfering more than $4 million in cash.

That led a federal grand jury on Thursday to indict 11 foreign nationals on accusations of bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery. The charges stem from the series of heists in California, Oregon and Washington, U.S. Attorney Philip A. Talbert said in a statement.

The indicted include Alex Moyano Morales, 24; Maite Celis Silva, 26; Erik Osorio Olivarez, 20; Rosa Bastias Serra, 42; Camilo Alarcon Alarcon, 23; Michelle Parada Munoz, 21; Alvaro Lagos Mieries, 44; Pablo Valdez Rodriguez, 36; and Humberto Jimenez Moreno, 45, all of Chile. Also indicted were Camilo Sepulveda Guzman, 31 and from Peru, and Bassil Dacosta Frias, 34 and from Venezuela, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

All face charges of conspiracy to commit bank robbery. Morales, Silva, Olivarez, Rodriguez, Serra, Guzman, Mieries, and Moreno face an additional charge of bank robbery, the office said.

In the case of the California crimes, the thefts ranged from the Los Angeles area in the south all the way up to Fall River Mills in the far northern part of the state.

The thieves on Sept. 18 robbed a Modesto bank. Some of them scouted an adjoining building that day, returning to the area that night.

“The subjects responsible for this larceny had broken into an adjacent ‘pet spa’ business, cut through the wall and accessed the bank ATM room,” an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.

On Sept. 22, the thieves wore yellow construction-worker vests, white helmets and face masks when they stole from a credit-union ATM. Officials said similar disguises were used in other thefts.

In a Sept. 28 break-in, they used blowtorches, saws and various power tools to get into a Fall River Mills bank and its vaults. However, they were interrupted during the theft and left some tools as they escaped.

Authorities in an affidavit stated they’d identified three vehicles linked to a series of September thefts. They issued lookout alerts for the vehicles.

On Sept. 26, Simi Valley police spotted one of them. An investigation led authorities to identify Morales. An Apple AirTag in the vehicle enabled them to link it to a shortterm vacation rental.

Ultimately, agents found several of the accused perps at a Seattle rental. Also found with them was about $20,000 in cash, as well as clothing matching descriptions from the thefts, according to the affidavit.

Officers arrested nine of the suspects last week. They arrested two others on Wednesday.

Six of the accused have appeared in court in the Western District of Washington and will be brought to Fresno. Another two were scheduled to have their initial appearance in that Washington court on Thursday. The remaining three are set for a Nov. 6 court date in Fresno.

Someone convicted of bank robbery faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. A conviction on conspiracy to commit bank robbery carries a five-year maximum sentence.