A man suspected of robbing two Central Valley banks within days of each other was tracked down and arrested while gambling at a casino, just hours after the most recent heist. Modesto police say Robert Vincent Mendez handed a teller a note demanding cash at the Bank of Stockton branch on J Street in downtown Modesto, then fled into a nearby alley before changing his appearance and ordering a rideshare out of town.
The robbery happened around 5:14 pm on October 2, according to CBS Sacramento, which reported that Mendez took cash from the teller before slipping away and later leaving Modesto city limits via a rideshare app. That same escape route is what ultimately brought detectives to his door. Two days earlier, on September 30, a U.S. Bank branch in Turlock was hit in what investigators now believe was a related robbery, according to GV Wire.
Cameras and Rideshare Records Close the Net
Modesto police officers worked with the department's Real-Time Crime Center to track the rideshare vehicle Mendez used to flee, per the CBS Sacramento report. The center uses FUSIS, license plate reader cameras, and citywide feeds.
The rideshare driver told officers where Mendez had recently been dropped off, and rideshare records identified him as the suspect while also connecting him to the earlier Turlock robbery, CBS Sacramento reported. Investigators also pointed to distinctive tattoos and similar methods used in both robberies as links between the two cases, the outlet noted.
Arrested Mid-Game at a Tuolumne County Casino
That trail led detectives to Chicken Ranch Casino in Tuolumne County, per the same GV Wire report. Modesto police detectives and casino security officers arrested Mendez while he was actively gambling inside the casino, and investigators recovered a portion of the stolen bank cash concealed on his person, GV Wire reported.
Police say Mendez admitted responsibility for both the Modesto and Turlock robberies and claimed he had committed additional robberies that authorities had not previously investigated, according to CBS Sacramento. GV Wire reported that Mendez's additional claims remained under investigation.
A Long Criminal History Resurfaces
Mendez has a criminal history that includes previous bank robberies in Washington and Oregon, for which he served time in prison, according to CBS Sacramento. That history traces back to November 2009, when he was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to three bank robberies in Washington state, while also facing indictments for four additional bank robberies in Oregon, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mendez was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on suspicion of bank robbery, commercial burglary, and possession of a controlled substance, according to GV Wire. Local Crime News reported his arrest record on October 4. His bail is being held under California Penal Code § 1275.1, a statute that applies when authorities believe bail money was obtained through criminal proceeds.
What Mendez Could Be Facing
Under California Penal Code § 211 and § 212.5, bank robberies carried out inside commercial branches using force or fear are classified as second-degree robbery, carrying state prison sentences of two, three, or five years, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. Robberies targeting ATM users, by contrast, fall under first-degree robbery and carry sentences of up to nine years.
The FBI table lists 753 demand-note uses among 1,362 total violations in 2023 and records firearms used in 230 of 1,362 violations, about 17%, according to FBI Bank Crime Statistics.
