{"id":4842,"date":"2014-07-21T17:50:30","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T00:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=4842"},"modified":"2014-07-21T17:54:16","modified_gmt":"2014-07-22T00:54:16","slug":"mastermind-bank-heist-used-staged-kidnapping-fake-bomb-sentenced-14-years-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=4842","title":{"rendered":"Mastermind of Bank Heist That Used Staged Kidnapping and Fake Bomb Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Justice<\/a>LOS ANGELES<\/strong> \u2013 The mastermind of a bank heist who conspired with a former assistant manager of a Bank of America branch in East Los Angeles was sentenced Monday to 14 years in federal prison.<\/p>\n

Reyes \u201cRay\u201d Vega<\/strong>, 35, of Bell, \u00a0plotted the bank robbery in which his one-time girlfriend wore a fake bomb to simulate a kidnapping to steal approximately $565,000 from the bank.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real ordered\u00a0Vega and his co-defendants to pay $556,800 in restitution.<\/p>\n

Officials said \u00a0Vega and his then-girlfriend \u2013 Aurora Barrera, 33, who now resides in Downey \u2013 were convicted in March following a one-week trial in United States District Court.<\/p>\n

The jury found the couple guilty of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and bank robbery. The jury also found that Vega and Barrera committed the robbery by assaulting a bank employee with a dangerous weapon \u2013 the hoax explosive device that Barrera wore when she entered the bank on September 5, 2012.<\/p>\n

During the robbery, \u00a0authorities said Barrera walked into the bank with what appeared to be an explosive device taped to her body, convinced a co-worker that she had been kidnapped from her home that morning by two men, and told the co-worker that they had to open the vault and place money outside the bank or else the kidnappers would harm them.<\/p>\n

Barrera and her co-worker placed $565,800 of the bank\u2019s money into bags and then threw the bags out the bank\u2019s side door, officials said.<\/p>\n

One of Vega\u2019s longtime friends, Richard Menchaca, picked up the money and drove it away from the bank. Menchaca met up with another accomplice, Bryan Perez, and they moved the money to a safe location, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

The device attached to Barrera\u2019s body turned out to be a hoax, but \u201cbecause the device was attached to a human, the Los Angeles Police Department\u2019s Bomb Squad rushed in without their full protective gear to remove it from Barrera,\u201d according to court documents.<\/p>\n

Due to its detailed construction, the Bomb Squad then used a robot to remotely detonate the device, for fear that it might explode and injure a member of law enforcement, officials said.<\/p>\n

Menchaca and Perez pleaded guilty and testified at the trial of Vega and Barrera. They are scheduled to be sentenced next month.<\/p>\n

Menchaca and Perez collectively received about $150,000 of the robbery proceeds, most of which they spent. The remaining approximately $400,000 has not been recovered.<\/p>\n

Barrera is scheduled to be sentenced on August 6.<\/p>\n

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Huntington Park Police Department.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n