Two young men pleaded no contest to robbing a Morgan Hill Bank
of America branch earlier this year.
Two young men pleaded no contest to robbing a Morgan Hill Bank of America branch earlier this year.
Jose A. Cervantes, 18, and Juan J. Ceja, 18, both of Hollister admitted guilt as part of a deal to receive a lighter sentence for the single felony charge of second degree robbery.
While Cervantes’ sentencing hearing won’t take place until July 27, Ceja was sentenced to 10 months in Santa Clara County Jail followed by three years probation. Plus, he was ordered to pay $800 in restitution to Bank of America.
Prosecutors expect Cervantes to receive a similar punishment, and said while the sentence seems lenient for a felony bank robbery, the teens exhibited no history of crime or violence.
“In this case, you had two (teenagers) with absolutely no criminal history, nobody was hurt, and no weapons were involved (in the robbery),” said Deputy Supervising District Attorney for South County Stephen Lowney, also noting the robbers only made off with $300 from the crime scene.
His initial offer of two years in state prison in exchange for no contest pleas was rejected by the judge in favor of up to one year in county jail, Lowney said.
But the robbery is still considered a violent crime and a felony “strike,” so if any of the robbers violates probation they could be sent to state prison.
“There could be long-term consequences if they continue to engage in a life of crime,” added Deputy Santa Clara County District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson.
Based on police reports and witness statements in the case file, Cervantes and Ceja plus two Hollister juveniles confessed to the Feb. 5 robbery of Bank of America at 101 Vineyard Town Center shortly after they were arrested.
Those files indicate the four friends, who have known each other since they were toddlers, suddenly decided to rob a bank one day as they were short on cash. One of the juveniles cried under questioning and told police he needed the money to help his parents pay rent, and Cervantes said the four of them “smoked a lot of weed” before executing the robbery, according to police reports.
Cervantes stood watch at the front door of the bank when he and a 16-year-old entered about 10:40 a.m. Feb. 5. The juvenile approached a teller and handed her a white plastic shopping bag and a handwritten note. The note read, “Put the money in the bag. I’m not here to hurt.”
No weapons or threats were used in the robbery.
The teller and an assistant manager, who noticed the teller appeared distressed, each tripped a silent alarm as she put about $300 in $20 bills in the bag, according to witness statements included in the case file. The woman also put $80 in “bait money” containing a GPS tracking device in the bag.
The two robbers left the bank and walked through the parking lot of the adjacent Nob Hill grocery store where they met Ceja and another juvenile who were waiting in a Ford Mustang getaway car in a nearby neighborhood. Ceja was the driver, according to case files.
Once in the car, the teens split the $300 evenly and partially burned the bait money and threw it out the window with the GPS device.
Police responded to the bank shortly after the silent alarm was tripped, but were unable to find the robbers that day. They found the tracking device on the side of the road near the intersection of Sunnyside and DeWitt avenues shortly after the robbery.
In the following couple of weeks, police received anonymous tips from callers who identified the suspects from bank surveillance photos posted on the Internet. The two juveniles were arrested March 10, Cervantes was arrested March 12, and Ceja was arrested on a $250,000 warrant based on statements from the other three suspects March 18. All were arrested at their respective homes in Hollister.
When police arrived at the home of one of the juveniles, his mother consented to a search of his bedroom, where they found several cash bills under a mattress.
Cervantes told police the teens planned the robbery the same day it happened.
Ceja was sentenced June 22.
Information about the two juveniles’ status could not be ascertained by press time, as calls to a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s juvenile crime department were not returned.
