Las Cruces Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Robbing Citizens Bank of Las Cruces in August 2010

ALBUQUERQUE—Claudio Alberto Morales-Medrano, 40, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was sentenced this morning to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his bank robbery conviction. Morales-Medrano also was ordered to pay full restitution to the victim of his crime. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Special Agent in Charge Carol K.O. Lee of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI.

Morales-Medrano was arrested on August 27, 2010, based a criminal complaint alleging that he robbed the Citizens Bank of Las Cruces (the bank) located at 2841 N. Main Street in Las Cruces on that same day. He has been in federal custody since his arrest.

Court records reflect that on August 27, 2010, Morales-Medrano entered the bank and approached a bank teller, pulled out a gun that he brandished at the teller, and demanded money. After obtaining cash from the teller, Medrano-Morales left the bank and fled in a silver, four-door sedan. Shortly thereafter, officers of the Las Cruces Police Department executed a stop of a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle in which the bank robber fled. The officers arrested Morales-Medrano and recovered the money that was taken from the bank, a black toy gun, and clothes matching the description of the clothes worn by the bank robber.

On January 12, 2012, Morales-Medrano pled guilty to the bank robbery without the benefit of a plea agreement.

The case was investigated by the Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI and the Las Cruces Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.