A 50-year-old man will spend 27 years in federal prison for committing two bank robberies in Orlando earlier this year while on supervised release from previous bank robbery convictions.
Raul Reyes-Vazquez, of Tampa, was sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in federal prison this week by U.S. Middle District of Florida Judge Carlos E. Mendoza for two bank robberies he committed in February.
According to court records, Reyes-Vazquez robbed a Chase Bank in Manhattan in July of 2008 and was convicted and sentenced for that case, as well as for a series of additional bank robberies he committed in Hialeah and Miami.
On February 16, 2022, while on supervised release from those previous convictions, Reyes-Vazquez entered a Trustco Bank branch in Orlando, announced a robbery, and told employees that he would shoot them if they did not provide him with cash.
The teller complied and Reyes-Vazquez left that bank with $4,200.
Less than a week later on February 22, 2022, Reyes-Vazquez entered a Wells Fargo bank branch in Orlando and, once again, announced a robbery before threatening to shoot everyone in the bank if they did not provide him with money.
Bank employees provided $43,695 to Reyes-Vazquez, according to court records.
Around $20,000 of that cash was recovered only two days later when Reyes-Vazquez was arrested.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orlando Police Department.