Law Enforcement Arrests Man Living in Motel in Lubbock and Charges Him with Robbing FirstBank Southwest in Amarillo

LUBBOCK, TX—On June 5, 2013, Gabriel Tenorio, 30, will appear in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy M. Koenig on a federal complaint filed on Friday, May 31, 2013, that charges him with robbing a branch of FirstBank Southwest (FBSW) in Amarillo, Texas, last month. Tenorio is currently in custody on state charges. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, on the morning of May 20, 2013, Tenorio, wearing dark clothing, a hat, and a mask covering his face and brandishing a sawed-off shotgun, robbed the FBSW located at 5701 SW 34th Street in Amarillo. The robber was observed without his mask by two people, and another person saw the vehicle he drove leaving the bank. Two days later, officers with the Lubbock Police Department located FBSW money straps, a bag, and a sawed-off shotgun, consistent with items from the robbery, in a field near the Lubbock Airport.

The investigation revealed that Tenorio was staying at a motel in Lubbock. Law enforcement observed him exit the motel and leave, driving an older model vehicle. After his arrest, a search of that vehicle and his motel room yielded an amount of cash consistent with that taken in the FBSW robbery.

A federal criminal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment. The maximum statutory penalty for the charged offense of bank robbery is 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the Amarillo and Lubbock Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag is in charge of the prosecution.