Home Albuquerque Press Releases 2010 Armed Bank Robber Sentenced to 141-Month Term of Imprisonment
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Armed Bank Robber Sentenced to 141-Month Term of Imprisonment

U.S. Attorney’s Office December 21, 2010
  • District of New Mexico (505) 346-7274

Earlier today, Chief United States District Judge Bruce D. Black sentenced Jason Pete Roper, 32, an Albuquerque resident, to a 141-month term of imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release based on his federal armed bank robbery and firearms convictions. Roper has been in federal custody since his arrest on July 19, 2009.

Roper entered guilty pleas to three counts of a four-count indictment under a plea agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office on April 1, 2010. Specifically, Roper pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery, using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The fourth count of the indictment, charging Roper with possession of a stolen firearm, was dismissed under the terms of the plea agreement.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that the charges against Roper stemmed from the armed robbery of the Bank of Albuquerque (Bank) located at 3301 Coors Boulevard NW in Albuquerque on July 19, 2009. According to the criminal complaint, Roper entered the Bank wearing a motorcycle helmet, pulled a handgun from his backpack, and threatened to shoot everyone in the Bank if they did not comply with his demand for cash. After obtaining a large sum of money from two Bank employees, Roper left the vicinity of the bank on a motorcycle. As Roper departed, Bank employees activated an alarm and called “9-1-1."

According to the criminal complaint, as the “9-1-1" dispatcher called out the bank robbery, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) airplane was flying over the vicinity of the bank and officers on board located and tracked Roper’s motorcycle as it traveled to a residence at 2604 Los Compadres NW in Albuquerque. Thereafter, special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and APD officers executed a search at that residence and located a motorcycle helmet and backpack fitting the description of those used by the bank robber. The backpack contained a large sum of money, a firearm and a driver’s license in the name of Jason Pete Roper.

The criminal complaint states that, after conducting surveillance at several locations Roper was known to frequent, Roper was arrested by the FBI and APD. It further reflects that, during the course of the investigation, the FBI and APD learned that Roper was on parole after having served eleven years in state prison for a crime of violence involving a firearm.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jon K. Stanford and Rumaldo R. Armijo, and was investigated by the FBI and APD.

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