West Valley Man Charged with Three Robberies in Indictment Returned by Federal Grand Jury

SALT LAKE CITY—A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday afternoon charging Pete Mafua, age 19, of West Valley City, with two counts of bank robbery and one credit union robbery in connection with robberies in Magna, West Valley City, and Taylorsville earlier this month.

The indictment charges Mafua with a February 1, 2013, robbery of Zions Bank at 8375 West 3500 South in Magna; a February 2, 2013, robbery of America First Credit Union at 4976 West 3500 South in West Valley City; and a second February 2 robbery at U.S. Bank located at 4135 South Redwood Road in Taylorsville.

According to a complaint filed in connection with the Zions Bank robbery, a male entered the bank wearing a black hat, black shirt, and a blue coat. The suspect’s face was uncovered. He approached the teller counter and presented a note to the teller that demanded cash and stated that he had a firearm. The suspect left the bank after receiving cash from the teller.

The suspect left the note at the bank and law enforcement officers were able to process it for fingerprints. According to the complaint, at least one fingerprint was used to identify Mafua as the robbery suspect. Additionally, video surveillance of the robbery was shown on local news programs and law enforcement officers received a tip identifying the bank robbery suspect as Mafua.

Mafua was arrested February 2, 2013. U.S. Magistrate Judge Evelyn J. Furse found him to be a danger to the community and ordered him detained pending trial. Mafua will be arraigned Thursday afternoon on the charges in the indictment.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Salt Lake Unified Police Department, and the West Valley City Police Department.