DALLAS — A 59-year-old man, who was convicted of robbing five banks but told told law enforcement that he committed an additional 13 bank robberies, plus two attempted bank robberies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, federal officials said.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle sentenced serial bank robber Luis de la Garza, 59, of Farmers Branch, Texas.
Dubbed the “Mesh Mask Bandit,” de la Garza included in a plea deal with prosecutors that he would stipulate to committing an additional 13 bank robberies and two attempted bank robberies, federal prosecutors said.
In each of the five bank robberies, de la Garza used a BB pistol and wore long-sleeved clothing, a mesh mask, cap and gloves to disguise his identity.
Officials said the tellers were in fear for their lives.
During the last robbery, on May 15, 2013, a bank customer grabbed de la Garza’s pistol and struck him in the head.
While a struggle then ensued between de la Garza and a bank employee, de la Garza broke free and fled the bank, leaving behind his pistol, which Garland Police Department determined was a CO2 BB gun.
The robberies took place between April 2010 and May 2013, according to federal officials.
Here are the five bank robberies that de la Garza admitted to robbing:
- March 18, 2013 Chase Bank Dallas, Texas
- April 5, 2013 Grand Prairie State Bank Grand Prairie, Texas
- April 22, 2013 Wells Fargo Bank Farmers Branch, Texas
- April 29, 2013 Capital One Bank Arlington, Texas
- May 15, 2013 Chase Bank Garland, Texas