‘Patient’ Tri-Cities bank robber sentenced to federal prison. His shoes gave him away
A man who robbed a Richland bank last year was sentenced to 10 years and nine months in federal prison after pleading guilty on Wednesday.
Nelson G. Mejia Jr., 27, was scheduled to go to trial next month in Benton County Superior Court in Washington for the robbery of the Chase Bank at 2701 Queensgate Drive in south Richland.
The bank is across Duportail Street from Krispy Kreme in south Richland.
Richland police reported that a man had stood patiently in line behind other customers over the noon hour on Jan. 12, 2022. He was wearing a hoodie, baggy clothes a cloth face mask and muddy Nike Air Force 1 shoes.
When it was his turn to talk to a teller, he handed over a note on an index card. It said “If you don’t want to get shot give me all the money peacefully and no one will get hurt,” according to court records.
The teller handed over just over $4,000.
He left the bank in a light-colored Honda Pilot that was believed to be stolen, according to police reports.
He did not take the index card note with him, and three fingerprints on it matched Mejia, according to court records.
Police found the Honda Pilot parked in the area of A Street and Road 40 in Pasco.
Inside officers found a pack of index cards and a face mask that matched one worn during the robbery, according to court records.
Investigators said a muddy shoe print inside of the bank matched one outside of the car.
In the week after the holdup, police received several tips, including ones that linked Mejia to the robbery, according to court records. At the time, he had been arrested on a state Department of Corrections allegation in Franklin County for probation issues on some previous convictions.
When he was being booked into jail, police found a key for the Red Lion Inn. In the room they discovered $500 in cash. Investigators also learned Mejia had paid $1,800 in cash to buy a car for a family member on Jan. 13.
Mejia has previous convictions in Benton or Franklin counties for robbery, motor vehicle theft and second degree theft.
After serving his prison sentence for bank robbery, Mejia will be on parole for 18 months.
A charge of possession of a stolen vehicle was dismissed.
