People v. Higerada CA2/8

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

At around 1:00 p.m. on March 19, 2012, Jorge Luis Higerada entered the South El Monte branch of Bank of the West, approached teller Marco Zubia, and mumbled something indecipherable. When Zubia asked, “Excuse me?” Higerada lifted his shirt, put his hand near the waistband, and said, “Give me all the money. Give me the money.” Higerada’s voice was “low . . . and serious.” Although Zubia did not see a weapon, he was afraid that Higerada was armed and handed over all the money in his drawer, including a stack of $20 bills that concealed an explosive dye pack. Higerada inspected that stack and handed it back to Zubia, stating, “I don’t want the dye pack.” Higerada took the loose bills, amounting to more than $2,000, and fled. Elvira Rodriguez, the bank’s assistant manager, witnessed this exchange and alerted manager Raquel Alvarado, who tripped the bank’s alarm. Higerada was on parole at the time and his parole officer – Arnold Valdez – contacted the F.B.I. to identify Higerada after coming across a photo of the incident that the F.B.I. had circulated. Based on Valdez’s information, an F.B.I. agent showed Zubia, Rodriguez, and Alvarado a six-pack photo…