Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Banks in Colorado and New Mexico in 2014 and 2015

ALBUQUERQUE – John Allen Pierceall, 54, of Denver, Colo., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to committing three banks robberies, two in Colorado and one in New Mexico, between Aug. 2014 and Aug. 2015.

Pierceall was arrested on Aug. 24, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with robbing the US Bank located at 901 East University Ave. in Las Cruces, on Aug. 24, 2015.  According to the complaint, Pierceall robbed the bank by presenting a bank teller with a demand note stating that he was armed and would shoot if she did not comply with his demand for cash.

On Dec. 2, 2015, Pierceall was indicted in the District of Colorado, and charged with two counts of bank robbery.  The indictment alleged that Pierceall robbed the Vectra Bank Colorado in Denver twice, once on Aug. 14, 2014 and again on Oct. 7, 2014.

During today’s proceedings, Pierceall plead guilty to a felony information charging him with three counts of bank robbery.  In entering the guilty plea, Pierceall admitted that on Aug. 14, 2014, and Oct. 7, 2014, he robbed the Vectra Bank Colorado, and on Aug. 24, 2015, he robbed the US Bank in Las Cruces.  Pierceall further admitted that he committed all three bank robberies by handing the teller a demand note which stated that he was armed and would shoot if his demands for cash were not met.

In his plea agreement, Pierceall waived his right to have the Colorado bank robberies prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, and agreed to have a federal judge in the District of New Mexico accept his guilty plea on those crimes. 

At sentencing, Pierceall faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison followed by up to three years of supervised release.  Pierceall remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled. 

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the Las Cruces Police Department and the Denver Police Department with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Lizarraga is prosecuting the case.