Mexican Robs Banks in U.S.

(Albuquerque, New Mexico) Arguably, here's one result of having a porous U.S.-Mexico border.

This morning, Jaime Jesus Sanchez-Ramos, 22, a Mexican national, was arraigned on a federal indictment charging him with four counts of bank robbery. Sanchez-Ramos entered a not guilty plea to the indictment. Sanchez-Ramos has been in federal custody since his arrest on April 10, 2012 and remains detained pending trial.

The indictment charges Sanchez-Ramos with robbing the following four banks in Santa Fe, New Mexico, earlier this year: (1) the Century Bank located at 1790 Saint Michael’s Drive on January 26, 2012; (2) the New Mexico Bank and Trust located at 1549 Paseo de Peralta on February 15, 2012; (3) the Bank of Albuquerque located at 706 Saint Michael’s Drive on March 16, 2012; and (4) the U.S. Bank located at 3787 Cerrillos Road on April 2, 2012. The maximum penalty for a conviction on each of the four offenses if 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Court records reflect that Sanchez-Ramos was arrested following the April 2, 2012 bank robbery of the U.S. Bank. After that robbery, the Santa Fe Police Department received a report that an employee of a home improvement store had retrieved evidence of the bank robbery, including a large amount of currency still bundled with U.S. Bank wrappers after observing a man put something into a trash can that was in the store’s parking lot. Armed with photographs taken by the store’s surveillance camera and a tip received by the FBI, law enforcement officers were able to identify Sanchez-Ramos as the man who allegedly robbed the U.S. Bank on April 2, 2012.

It appears Mr. Sanchez-Ramos was robbing one bank per month.