News and Press Releases
Two plead guilty to robbing Minneapolis TCF Bank
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS – Yesterday in federal court, two men pleaded guilty to robbing the TCF
Bank on West Lake Street in Minneapolis on February 28, 2011. Gregory Scott Tyler, age 50,
pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting a bank robbery and one count of escape from
federal custody; and Orlando Ray Vasquez, age 41, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery
and one count of escape from federal custody. The men, who were indicted on March 22, 2011,
entered their pleas before United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen.
In his plea agreement, Vasquez admitted that on February 28, he stole approximately $215
from the bank. He also admitted entering the bank and handing a teller a note demanding money.
The note also stated that if the teller did not comply, “it would get violent.” Vasquez pointed a
can of pepper spray at the teller. Vasquez admitted running out of the bank with the stolen
money and jumping into the backseat of a vehicle driven by Tyler. The two fled in the vehicle
driven by Tyler and crashed into another vehicle at a nearby intersection. Vasquez admitted
running from the accident scene and carjacking a female victim’s vehicle in order to evade law
enforcement.
In addition, Vasquez admitted that on February 22, 2011, he escaped custody by failing to
report to a Nevada halfway house and instead traveling to Minneapolis. Vasquez was in federal
custody on a prior federal bank robbery conviction.
In his plea agreement, Tyler admitted that he assisted Vasquez’s escape from the bank
robbery by driving the getaway vehicle which he crashed into another vehicle. Tyler also
admitted leaving the accident scene and carjacking a female victim to evade law enforcement. In
addition, Tyler admitted that on February 26, 2011, he escaped from a Minnesota halfway house
by removing his global positioning system monitoring bracelet and failing to report. Tyler was in
federal custody on a prior bank robbery conviction from the U.S. District Court for the District
of Minnesota.
According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, police recovered medication in
the name of Gregory Tyler in the trunk of the vehicle used by the robbers. Police later learned
that the car had been reported stolen on February 26, 2011.
Soon after responding to the vehicle crash, police were called to a reported carjacking
nearby. The two men who were involved in that offense matched the descriptions of the two who
had been involved in the car crash. An investigation ensued, and on March 1, 2011, deputies
with the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”) located and apprehended Tyler and Vasquez at a St.
Paul motel. In the motel room, authorities recovered a can of pepper spray and a coat that
closely resembled the coat worn by the bank robber.
For their crimes, the defendants face a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in federal
prison on the bank robbery count, and a potential maximum penalty of five years on the escape
count. Judge Ericksen will determine their sentences at a future hearing.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Minneapolis Police Department and the USMS. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorneys Andrew S. Dunne and Ann M. Bildtsen.
