Tehachapi Resident Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery

FRESNO, Calif. — Michael Brian Taylor, 60, of Tehachapi, pleaded guilty today to bank robbery, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to his plea agreement and other court documents, on May 24, 2016, at approximately 11:45 a.m., Taylor entered and robbed the Bank of the Sierra in Tehachapi, of approximately $34,000. Taylor entered the bank wearing a ski mask pulled down over his face and yelled loudly, “Hands in the air!” He approached the bank teller, demanded $200,000, and placed a black bag on the counter. Ultimately, he took approximately $34,000 given to him by the teller.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Tehachapi Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Angela L. Scott is prosecuting the case.

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on March 20, 2017. Taylor faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.