Bad Beard Bandit Indicted For Four Bank Robberies In San Joaquin And Stanislaus Counties

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Gerardo Lopez, 28, of Half Moon Bay, charging him with four counts of bank robbery, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, from November 2013 to February 2014, Lopez entered the banks wearing a fake beard and handed tellers notes demanding money. Lopez is charged with four bank robberies as follows:

November 21, 2013, Bank of the West on Main Street in Ripon;
November 26, 2013, Chase Bank on Spreckels Avenue in Manteca;
December 3, 2013, Chase Bank on West 11 Street in Tracy;
February 5, 2014, Citibank on Geer Road in Turlock.

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI and the police departments of Ripon, Manteca, Turlock, Tracy, Sunnyvale, Capitola, Dublin, and San Jose. Assistant United States Attorney Olusere Olowoyeye is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Lopez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000.00 fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.