A 29-year-old Fountain Valley man—one of two men dubbed the Bladed Bandits for a series of bank heists that included one in Long Beach—was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also ordered Chad Dupape, who pleaded guilty in June to four armed bank robberies and attempted robberies, to pay $21,611 in restitution to Chase bank and $3,837 in restitution to U.S. Bank, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Pell.
It’s not clear how much time is faced by co-defendant Vincent Edward Wilson of Long Beach, 53, who also pleaded guilty in June and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19. The plea deals were sealed in court records.
The two men were associated with the “Bladed Bandit” stickups, a moniker coined in reference to a large knife brandished in one of the robberies, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Thom Mrozek.
The pair were linked to:
- a Jan. 2 heist at a Chase bank branch in Seal Beach in which $21,000 was stolen
- a Jan. 16 attempted robbery at a Farmers & Merchants Bank branch in Long Beach
- a Jan. 16 attempted robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Fountain Valley
- and a Jan. 18 robbery at a U.S. Bank branch in Fountain Valley
Dupape admitted he brandished a knife in one robbery and a handgun in another, Mrozek said.
Wilson pleaded guilty to the Chase bank and U.S. Bank robberies while admitting he drove Dupape to both stickups and that he was the lookout for one heist, Mrozek said.