Source: United States Department of Justice News
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza today sentenced Raul Reyes-Vazquez (50, Tampa) to 27 years and 3 months in federal prison for committing bank robberies while on federal supervised release in connection with a bank robbery he had committed in 2008. The court also ordered Reyes-Vazquez to forfeit $28,579, which are traceable proceeds of the February 2022 offenses. Reyes-Vazquez had pleaded guilty on May 16, 2022.
According to court documents, on July 28, 2008, Reyes-Vazquez committed a bank robbery through the threat of violence at a Chase Bank in Manhattan. He was convicted and sentenced for that offense in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also committed a series of bank robberies in 2006 in Hialeah and Miami for which he was sentenced in 2019.
In February 2022, Reyes-Vazquez was still serving a sentence of supervised release for his federal conviction for the bank robbery he had committed in 2008.
On February 16, 2022, Reyes-Vazquez entered a Trustco Bank branch in Orlando and announced that it was a robbery and that he would shoot employees if the teller did not give him the money. The teller complied and Reyes-Vazquez obtained $4,200. On February 22, 2022, Reyes-Vazquez entered a Wells Fargo bank branch in Orlando, announced it was a robbery, and threatened to shoot everyone in the bank if they did not provide him money. Bank employees provided a total of $43,695, nearly $20,000 of which was recovered when law enforcement arrested Reyes-Vazquez two days later. At sentencing, Reyes-Vazquez was determined to be a career offender under federal sentencing rules.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Orlando Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dana E. Hill.
This is another case prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety – one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and re-entry efforts. In the Middle District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.