Three Plead Guilty to $76,300 Armed Robbery of Pacific Postal Credit Union
Sefo Sagote Agrees to 133-month Prison Sentence

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Sefo Sagote, 27, and his niece Angelica Sagote, 20, pleaded guilty last week to the armed bank robbery of the Pacific Postal Credit Union in San Francisco, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced. Elisara Taito, 26, pleaded guilty on December 15, 2008.

According to the plea agreements, Sefo Sagote, Angelica Sagote, and Taito conspired to rob the Pacific Postal Credit Union, a federally insured credit union located at 175 Mendell Street, San Francisco.

On August 4, 2008, Sefo Sagote attempted to rob the Credit Union while carrying a black BB-gun that was a replica of a gun. Tellers at the Credit Union dove behind a safety “bandit barrier,” and the robbery was unsuccessful.  

On August 6, 2008, Angelica Sagote drove Sefo Sagote and Taito to the Credit Union just before it opened for the day. Sefo Sagote and Taito carried black BB-guns that were replicas of large caliber guns. Sefo Sagote and Taito got out of the vehicle and pointed the weapons at one of the tellers to force her to open the Credit Union’s door. Once inside, Sefo Sagote and Taito threatened to shoot the tellers, which caused one teller to open the vault. The robbers then took cash out of the vault. Angelica Sagote drove the robbers in their flight from the Credit Union.

According to the plea agreements, the loss to the Credit Union from the August 6 robbery was $76,300, of which $36,282 was recovered by San Francisco Police Officers and FBI agents when they arrested the defendants that same day.

Sentencing for Taito is scheduled for March 23 before United States District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Angelica Sagote and Sefo Sagote are scheduled to be sentenced June 15 before United States District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel.

Under the terms of the plea agreements filed Thursday, Sefo Sagote agreed to a prison sentence of 11 years and 1 month, followed by 5 years of supervised release. Angelica Sagote agreed to a prison sentence of 46 to 57 months, followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

The maximum statutory penalty for attempted armed bank robbery and armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d) is 25 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and five years of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 is 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release.

Any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Angelica Sagote, Sefo Sagote, and Taito were indicted by a federal grand jury on August 26, 2008, for attempted armed bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and conspiracy.

Nat Cousins is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Elizabeth Garcia. The guilty pleas are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and San Francisco Police Department.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 08-0574 MHP

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.