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Couple Who Robbed A Bank With Fake Bomb Stand Trial

Olga Grigoryants |
March 12, 2014 | 3:22 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Aurora Barrera, 33, is currently on trial after having entered a bank with a fake bomb strapped to her body and taking half a million dollars from the bank’s vault to pay her alleged kidnappers.  

Federal prosecutors have argued that rather than being a victim, Barrera helped plan the robbery with her ex-boyfriend Reyes Vega, 34, while working as an assistant branch manager at the Bank of America in East Los Angeles.  

Prosecutors said this robbery was made possible with the help of an insider who knew how the bank operates.

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On September 5, 2012, Barrera walked into the bank and told her coworker she was kidnapped by two black men who had since strapped an explosive device to her body.

Barrera then requested to access the vault with $565,000, unloaded the cash from the shelves into a plastic bag and placed it outside the bank’s door, according to prosecutors.

Supposedly under Vega’s direction, a co-conspirator picked up the bag and passed it to another man who drove away in a car, which police later identified as having a license plate registered under Vega’s parents. 

Barrera’s attorney, however, presented the scene his client witnessed from a different perspective.

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He argued that Barrera headed to work where she was scheduled to open the bank. After leaving her home with a purse, lunch box and keys in hand, Barrera encountered two armed strangers at her parking garage.  

According to her lawyer, they told Barrera that if she doesn’t scream, no one will be hurt, then placed her in a car and drove her to work.

In the car, under gunpoint, Barrera was told to strap what appeared to be a bomb to her body.

Next, Barrera walked into the bank and told her co-worker to open the vault. She pulled her shirt and showed the “bomb” saying it could kill her any moment. She put the cash in the bag and threw it outside of the window.  

After the bomb squad arrived and the building was evacuated, a robot was dispatched to discharge the explosives, which proved to be fake.

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Prosecutors claim that Barrera’s actions were carefully calculated, that she picked up money from the vault’s shelf containing the biggest amount of cash and put the bag outside in a blind spot of the bank’s security cameras.  

They argued Barrera was spotted by the surveillance cameras walking inside the bank and adjusting her belt with a “bomb” underneath. 

Rebecca Bernstein, branch manager at the Bank of America, said on Sept. 5 the bank had more cash in stocks than on any regular day, as it was right after the Labor Day weekend when people made a lot of deposits. She said Barrera was one of a few employees who had access to this information.

Most of the money the defendants supposedly stole from the bank has not been recovered, according to court papers.

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Less than a month after the robbery, Barrera flew to Texas where prosecutors claim she spent $15,000 on plastic surgery. 

Barrera’s lawyer said his client will testify against her ex-boyfriend. He argued that Barrera was duped by Vega who “showered her with flowers” and promised to marry her while dating several other women.

“Vega targeted her for a long time to make her a part of his plan,” Barrera’s attorney said, calling Vega is a “pathological liar who constantly manipulated others to his own benefit.”

Vega remains in custody while Barrera has been released on bond. If convicted, they both face up to 30 years in prison, KCAL 9 reports.

Two other accomplices, Richard Menchaca and Bryan Perez, pleaded guilty and will testify against Vega and Barrera on Wednesday.

Contact Staff Reporter Olga Grigoryants here



 

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