FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Two men who were arrested last week for robbing as many as 16 credit unions and banks apparently were betrayed by their cell phone conversations, during which they discussed the heists.
The suspects, dubbed the “High Country Bandits” because most of the institutions they hit were in the high country of Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, apparently gambled away the more than $170,000 they stole, including $17,262 taken during an Oct. 14 robbery at Arizona Central CU in Flagstaff and $2,872 stolen Jan. 29 from Land of Enchantment FCU in Santa Fe, N.M.
Authorities said they tracked the bandits, identified as Ronald Capito, 52, and Joel Glore, 51, through subpoenaed cell phone records. Federal agents requested a court order for records of all mobile phones registered with cell phone towers closest to four of the more remote robbery locations. Investigators then went through records of 150,000 phones used to make calls via the four towers. Computer analysis identified two cell phone numbers that were used prior to the times of the robberies in those four remote locations.
Agents then requested a court order for subscriber information for the two numbers. A computer analysis of the activity of the two numbers led to confirmation of use prior to other bank robberies. Also, the phone activity remained quiet for some time after the robberies.
The two men were put under surveillance. One owned vehicles that matched descriptions of getaway vehicles used in the robberies. He also had an ATV matching the description of the getaway vehicle in several of the robberies.
Gambling addiction appears to be the motivation for the robberies, said the FBI. Several of the robberies were in communities that were near casinos. The two men applied for casino player cards in Colorado just prior to one of the robberies there, according to court records.
Search warrant searches on Capito's home turned up several items – a mask, cash wrappers, clothing and a handwritten log with the names of cities where robberies had happened.
When agents served search warrants on Capito's vehicles, they found several newspaper articles about the High Country Bandits.
