LOS ANGELES – Law enforcement officials on Thursday arrested the “Cowboy Gun Bandits” who were involved in a series of robberies.
The FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Dominic Dorsey, 46, of Hollywood, and Reginald Bailey, 69, of the Jefferson Park district of Los Angeles. The two were named in a federal grand jury indictment returned on June 3, authorities announced today.
Portion of missing ring finger on a robber’s left lead authorities to Bailey, officials claim.
Two men who earned the moniker the “Cowboy Gun Bandits” for brandishing a large-caliber revolver during a series of alleged robberies, including the robbery of a Citibank branch in Glendale last year that netted the robbers more than $55,000.
The indictment alleges a conspiracy to interfere with commerce in violation of the Hobbs Act. The indictment also charges them with five specific Hobbs Act robberies and five counts of using a firearm during the robberies.
The conspiracy count in the indictment alleges that Dorsey and Bailey participated in eight robberies, specifically:
- a September 30, 2013, robbery at a Papa John’s pizza restaurant in Canyon Country;
- an October 6, 2013, robbery at an ARCO gas station in Newhall;
- an October 18, 2013, robbery at a Chevron gas station in Woodland Hills;
- an October 25, 2013, robbery at an ARCO gas station in Encino;
- an October 26, 2013, robbery at a Mobil gas station in Thousand Oaks;
- an October 27, 2013, robbery at a USA Gas station in Earlimart (in California’s Central Valley);
- an October 28, 2013, robbery at a Valero gas station in Atwater Village;
- a November 5, 2013, robbery of a Citibank branch in Glendale that netted more than $55,000.
Many of the robberies were captured by video surveillance, which allowed investigators to determine that one of the robbers was missing part of his ring finger on his left hand. The video surveillance helped lead authorities to Bailey, whose left hand is missing a portion of his ring finger, authorities said.
Each of the Hobbs Act violations – a total of six – carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The gun violations carry potential life sentences, but also would bring mandatory minimum sentences of seven years for the first count and 25 years for each of the four additional counts, officials said.