Four Men Indicted on Bank Robbery Charges

   ROCHESTER, N.Y.--U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging four men with conspiring to commit bank robberies. Two of the four men are also charged with actual bank robbery. Laquan Ealey, 23, Abraham Osorio, 21, Luis Osorio, 24, and Jefery Steadman-Loyd, 19, all of Rochester, N.Y., are charged with conspiring to commit bank robbery. Defendants Laquan Ealey and Abraham Osorio are also charged with bank robbery. Bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Each charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Everardo A. Rodriguez, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, on Saturday June 7, 2014, Laquan Ealey and Abraham Osorio, robbed the Chase Bank located at 2900 Dewey Avenue in Rochester. The defendants entered the bank and walked up to a teller station. Ealey was wearing a baseball cap, gloves, and black hair extensions, Abraham Osorio a red baseball cap and sunglasses. Ealey then passed a note to the teller that stated "Give me all the money or everyone dies in here." Ealey then told the teller "Give me all your money or everyone here will die, I have a gun." The teller then handed Ealey an amount of money. The defendants then exited the bank, driving away in a 2002 blue Ford Explorer that was parked on the street near the bank. The robbery was recorded on bank surveillance cameras.

On June 14, 2914, Ealey and Osorio attempted to rob the Citizens Bank at 230 Waring Road in Rochester. Luis Osorio, Abraham’s older brother, and Jefery Steadman-Loyd were observed by police in the blue Explorer with Abraham Osorio and Laquan Ealey. The four initially drove by the bank and then stopped the Explorer several block away, at which time Luis Osorio exited the Explorer with a screwdriver in hand and replaced the vehicle’s two license plates with fake plates. The four men then drove back to parked next to the bank. Fearing that the men were about to rob the bank, Rochester Police patrol cars approached the Explorer. When the patrol cars engaged their emergency lights, the defendants sped away, leading police on a car chase over approximately five city blocks. During the effort to flee, the Explorer struck a police vehicle. When the Explorer finally came to a stop, Abraham Osorio was the driver, Luis Osorio was the front passenger and Ealey and Steadman-Loyd were in the back seat.

Police searched the Explorer and found, among other items, black hair extensions, several hats and caps, several pairs of sunglasses, a screwdriver and the two license plates which Luis Osorio had earlier replaced with fake plates.

The defendants were arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson. They are due back in court for detention hearings scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday, June 23 and 24.

The arrests are a culmination of a joint investigation on the part of the Greece Police Department, under the direction of Chief Patrick Phelan, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Scott Crosier, the United States Marshals Service, under the direction of Charles Salina, and the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.