On April Fool’s day, the First Republic Bank at 776 El Camino Real was robbed by a man who walked into the bank and handed a note to a teller stating that he had five minutes to comply with the robber’s request, and that he did not want to hurt the teller. The note also demanded money. According to a news article at the Redwood City – Woodside Patch, the teller complied with the robber’s wishes, placing $4,000 cash into a bag and giving it to the robber.
What happened next is quite surprising, and perhaps brave. The teller, who had triggered the bank’s silent alarm as the robber left the bank, followed the robber at a distance. The news article states that the teller dialed the Redwood City police as he followed the suspect, giving officers a description of the suspect’s appearance, and where he was going. Because of the teller’s actions, police caught up with the bank robber, 27-year-old Marco Antonio Rubio-Baez, at the entrance to Sequoia Station.
Officers searched Rubio-Baez and found a small amount of methamphetamine on his person, as well as the bag of money. The District Attorney’s Office said that after apologizing to police, Rubio-Baez said that he stole the money because he needed it to pay bills including cell phone and rent, and “to send his mother to Mexico.”
Rubio-Baez pleaded not guilty to felony charges of bank robbery and was arraigned on Tuesday in San Mateo County Court. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 11.
Robbing a bank is a serious federal offense; Redwood City robbery lawyers know that because Rubio-Baez will face federal charges, the penalties he will face if convicted will be severe. Any criminal offense which is prosecuted at the federal level typically incurs more serious penalties for the defendant than those prosecuted at the state level. Defendants may face substantial fines and anywhere from 10 years to life in prison depending on the value of the property taken, whether a weapon was used in the commission of the crime, whether anyone was assaulted or killed, and other factors.
Anyone who has been arrested for bank robbery must consult with an aggressive and effective Redwood City criminal defense attorney right away. Your attorney will thoroughly review your case in order to determine how to proceed in order to reach the desired outcome.
