“High Country Bandits” Arrested in Arizona
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 12, 2010 |
PHOENIX—Ronald Michael Capito, 52, and Joel Jay Glore, 51, both of Show Low, Ariz., have been arrested and charged by criminal complaint with eight counts of armed bank robbery. Capito and Glore are suspected of being the “High Country Bandits,” a duo responsible for a total of 16 armed bank robberies in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico between September 2009 and February 2010.
“These arrests are due to outstanding police work by FBI offices in northern Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, working with an array of police agencies in the Four Corners region to solve these crimes,” said Dennis K. Burke, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. “We thank all of these agencies for their outstanding collaboration and look forward to prosecuting these defendants to the fullest extent of the law.”
“The arrest of the High Country Bandits is an excellent example of law enforcement cooperation at the federal, state, county and local levels,” said Nate T. Gray, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Phoenix Division. “Once again the law enforcement community worked in a coordinated effort to take two alleged serial bank robbers off the streets in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah.”
The complaint alleges that Capito and Glore are responsible for robbing eight banks at gunpoint in Arizona. The banks are located in Heber, Flagstaff, Prescott Valley, Payson, Gold Canyon, and Pinetop. In each robbery, the robber would enter the bank with a handgun, demand money from the teller(s), and order everyone to the ground. Often, the robber would flee the area with a second individual on an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).
A conviction for armed bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 25 years, a $250,000 fine, or both. In determining an actual sentence, the judge will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.
A criminal complaint is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI Bank Robbery Take Force, the FBI offices in Pinetop/Lakeside and Flagstaff, Ariz., Salt Lake City, Utah, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Durango, Colorado; partnering with the local police departments in Phoenix, Mesa, Flagstaff, Payson, Prescott Valley, Pinetop, Show Low, as well Bayfield, Cortez and Durango, Colorado, and Park City, Utah; Sheriff’s Offices in Maricopa, Navajo, and Pinal counties, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution for the Arizona bank robberies is being handled by Alison S. Bachus, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
Media Note: In accordance with U.S. District Court ethical rules and U.S. Department of Justice media policy, photographs of defendants will not be provided by agencies.