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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City man wanted in connection with a string of bank robberies through Salt Lake and Davis counties was reportedly in New Mexico prior to a warrant for his arrest was filed Jan. 10.
Antonio Paul Velasquez, 22, was arrested in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on Dec. 29 on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a license, according to a report filed in Los Alamos County Jail. The Santa Fe New Mexican, which first reported the arrest Tuesday, noted that authorities in the state kept him detained in mid-January because a warrant for his arrest had been filed in Utah.
The Utah warrant was filed by prosecutors in Utah's 3rd District Court on Jan. 10 and acknowledged Velasquez was in custody in New Mexico at the time, according to Utah court records. Velasquez was charged with robbery, a second-degree felony, in connection with a bank robbery at 159 Center St. in Midvale on Dec. 12.
Prosecutors alleged a man, who was later identified as Velasquez, walked into the bank and showed a teller a note that said “give me the money now.” He left with “a stack of cash,” according to charging documents. FBI agents had previously tied that bank robbery to six others in the area from Nov. 20 to Dec. 28 and dubbed the man the “Holiday Bandit.”
Velasquez’s legal entanglement between Utah and New Mexico began on Dec. 29 — the day after FBI agents stated they believed the suspected “Holiday Bandit” robbed a Key Bank in North Salt Lake.
Shortly before 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 29, a Los Alamos County sheriff’s deputy pulled over Velasquez after receiving a tip from an off-duty officer that “the driver of a blue or silver minivan with a broken window was parked at the Shell on Diamond and was intoxicated,” according to a jail report filed in New Mexico.
Read more:
FBI searching for 'Holiday Bandit' after 7 bank robberies in Salt Lake Valley
FBI officials are searching for a man dubbed the "Holiday Bandit" after they say he robbed seven banks in the Salt Lake Valley during November and December.The deputy wrote that the driver “spoke with a slurred speech” and wrote that he "saw a glass pipe with a white substance in it in the vehicle just behind the passenger seat,” according to the report.
The driver, who was identified as Velasquez, “claimed that he had a warrant out of Utah, he didn’t have a license (and) he claims that he drove poorly because he needs glasses to drive” in addition to not knowing the area as he attempted to drive from Utah to Albuquerque, the report added.
The report continued to state Velasquez had $410 in cash and a baggie with a white substance that said was meth, and that he told the deputy “I’m a drug runner.”
New Mexico court records provided to KSL by KOB 4 in Albuquerque show he was served with the Utah arrest warrant arrest on Jan. 14, four days after charges were filed in 3rd District Court. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported police in Utah had received two tips identifying Velasquez as the man responsible for the seven bank robberies in Utah.
The news outlet also reported Velasquez remained in New Mexico custody Tuesday but was not fighting extradition back to Utah. However, KOB reported there was no immediately hearing date set to extradite him.
It’s unclear when Velasquez would be transported back to Utah. However, Utah court records show he does have previous criminal history in the state. Records show he pleaded guilty to propelling a bodily substance, a class B misdemeanor, in May 2018. As a part of the deal, counts of criminal mischief, possession of a controlled substance and intoxication were dropped. He also pleaded guilty to forgery, a Class A misdemeanor, in 2016, according to court records.
