Colorado Man Sentenced in New Mexico for Robbing Wells Fargo Bank in Farmington in September 2012 and Firearms Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Robert O’Dell Neihart, 44, of Ignacio, Colo., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 148 months in prison for the armed robbery of a Wells Fargo Bank branch located in in Farmington, N.M.  Neihart will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Neihart was arrested in Nov. 2012, on a two-count indictment charging him with the armed robbery of the Wells Fargo Bank branch located on East Main Street in Farmington on Sept. 21, 2012, and using a firearm during a crime of violence.  Count 1 of the indictment also charged co-defendant Denise Myrick, 45, also of Ignacio, Colo., with aiding and abetting Neihart in robbing the bank.  Prosecution of the case against Neihart was delayed by competency proceedings.

On Feb. 20, 2015, Neihart pled guilty to both counts of the indictment, and admitted that on Sept. 21, 2012, he robbed the bank by approaching a teller and handing her a two-page letter demanding money.  Neihart further admitted that he had a pistol in his possession at the time of the robbery, which he later used to shoot at police vehicles that pursued him after the bank robbery.  Neihart was arrested at his Colorado residence later that day by the officers who were in pursuit.

Myrick pled guilty on Dec. 4, 2013, to a misdemeanor information charging her with aiding and abetting a bank robbery.  In entering her guilty plea, Myrick admitted driving Neihart to the bank and assisting him in his attempted escape.  She was sentenced on Mar. 4, 2014, to three years of probation.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque and Farmington offices of the FBI, the Farmington Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the La Plata County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Pflugrath.