Friday, Jan. 15, 2010

Robbery suspects captured

Pair accused of Rabobank theft, caught next day in Burlingame

A man and a woman are in custody after allegedly robbing a Los Baños bank at gunpoint Tuesday morning.

At 9:09 a.m. the Los Baños Police Department was notified that Rabobank N.A. had been robbed. Employees at the bank were taken by surprise by the suspects soon after opening for business, police said. The alleged robbers entered the bank, both wearing disguises and carrying semi-automatic handguns.

The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled.

Police detectives contacted the FBI to assist with the investigation. After reviewing the bank's surveillance video the FBI told local detectives that the couple may be responsible for several robberies that occurred in Visalia and Colorado. Law enforcement found the suspects in Burlingame on Wednesday. They were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit burglary. The male suspect has been identified as 35-year-old Joseph Thomas Nieto. The female suspect is 23-year-old Christina Drummond. Police said the couple most recently lived in Visalia, but are originally from Greeley, Colo.

They were booked into the Los Baños Jail Wednesday. As of Thursday morning the couple was at the John Latoracca Correctional Facility pending $1.5 million bail each. A large percentage of the money that was stolen from Rabobank has been recovered, police said. In addition to working with the FBI, detectives asked law enforcement in Colorado to participate in the investigation.