Thaindian News

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (BNO NEWS) – A Las Vegas, Nevada man was sentenced after committing an armed bank robbery, prosecutors said Monday.

Frank Edward Morales, 40, of North Las Vegas, and Nathan Ray Dent, 39, of Las Vegas, entered a Citibank and left with approximately $9,400 in cash, a purse belonging to a female bank customer, and a cell phone belonging to another male customer.

While Morales approached the teller stations with a revolver, Dent stood near the door with a semi-automatic pellet gun. Pointing his firearm at bank employees and customers, Morales ordered everyone in the bank to the floor and ordered the tellers to give him money. The tellers complied, and Morales took the money from each of their stations, and also took money and a cell phone from a male customer and a purse from a female customer.

Morales and Dent then fled from the bank in a red Honda Civic and drove to a park, but when they observed a police vehicle they fled again, driving into another vehicle nearby and then crashing into two oncoming vehicles. Morales fled on foot, and was almost immediately detained by law enforcement with the assistance of a K-9 police dog. Dent was also immediately apprehended.

Officers later recovered the stolen items form the vehicle.

Morales, who has a prior conviction for robbery in 1999, was sentenced to 19½ years in prison and five years of supervised release after pleading guilty on December 23, 2009. Dent pleaded guilty on March 19 and will be facing serious penalties as he is scheduled to be sentenced in June.