Two Indicted for Robbing Minneapolis TCF Bank

Earlier today in federal court in Minneapolis, two men from the Twin Cities were indicted for allegedly robbing the TCF Bank on West Lake Street in Minneapolis on February 28, 2011. The indictment charges Gregory Scott Tyler, age 49, and Orlando Ray Vasquez, age 40, with one count of bank robbery. It also charges Tyler with one count of escape.

The indictment alleges that on February 28, the defendants stole $215 from the bank. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, a man, later identified as Vasquez, entered the bank at 9:00 a.m. and handed a note to a teller, demanding cash. The man also reportedly threatened the teller and pointed a can a pepper spray at the teller. As a result, the teller complied with the man’s demands and gave him money, after which he exited the bank, allegedly got into a car, and left the area.

Several minutes later, police responded to a car crash at the intersection of Bryant Avenue South and 24th Street in Minneapolis. Witnesses at the scene reported having seen two men flee the crashed vehicle. In that vehicle, authorities found cash and a red baseball cap similar to the one worn by the robber. In addition, police recovered medication in the name of Gregory Tyler in the trunk. Police later learned that the car had been reported stolen on February 26, 2011.

Soon after responding to the vehicle crash, police were called to a reported carjacking nearby. The two men who allegedly were involved in that offense matched the descriptions of the two who, purportedly, had been involved in the car crash. An investigation ensued, and on March 1, 2011, deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) located and apprehended Tyler at a St. Paul motel. Vasquez was arrested a short time later. In the motel room, authorities recovered a can of pepper spray and a coat that closely resembled the coat worn by the bank robber.

The indictment also charges Tyler with escape from the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons. On February 26, 2011, he allegedly escaped while confined at the Volunteers of America, Minneapolis Community Corrections facility, located on Lake Street in Minneapolis. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, he signed out for a smoke break but never returned and, eventually, removed his GPS bracelet.

If convicted, the defendants face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, and Tyler faces an additional potential maximum penalty of five years on the escape charge. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Minneapolis Police Department and the USMS. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Dunne.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.