Three men in Utah were indicted after committing a robbery at a credit union.
Per the United States Attorney’s Office, on September 4, a man wearing a backpack walked into a credit union in South Salt Lake City.
He proceeded to hand a threatening note to the teller, ordering him to give over money and implying the explosive in his backpack would go off if he didn’t. The “explosive device” was a fake made out of tape and fireworks.
After the teller handed over $1,234, the robber fled the credit union and hopped into the getaway car, where another man was waiting.
There was also a second car on the scene that was found to be connected to the robbery. The driver of the second car owned both vehicles.
The Trio’s Charges
Three Utah Men Charged After Credit Union is Allegedly Robbed with a Hoax Explosive Device
📰PRESS RELEASE:🔗https://t.co/nY5inYp3EXpic.twitter.com/os36W8Mtlx
— US Attorney Utah (@USAO_UT) October 1, 2026
The teller called the cops after the robbery occurred, and the men were first caught September 15. The suspects were identified as 31-year-old Thomas Domingo Bustos, 37-year-old Brelyn Sanchez, and 52-year-old Fidel Ybarra.
They were charged federally with conspiracy and robbery affecting a financial institution. If convicted of the federal bank robbery charge, the men could face up to 20 years behind bars.
The men appeared in court on their indictment October 2.
Other Similar Cases
Several others were also arrested or sentenced last month for violent bank robberies.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, 37-year-old Christopher Donte McLean was sentenced to 37 months in prison. In March 2025, McLean entered a Fifth Third Bank and acted as a regular customer. Suddenly, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at staff, ordering them to hand over $30,000.
Days later, similar to the Utah incident, the 37-year-old went to another Charlotte bank and handed the teller a note demanding $40,000.
In Brooklyn, New York, Pierre Lee, who was already a convicted felon, was sentenced after handing a teller a ransom note demanding cash.
A Steady Decline
According to Pinkerton, 58% of bank robbers use notes to communicate their intentions. By contrast, only 14% of robberies involve guns.
Luckily, authorities catch around 52% of bank robbers, so they likely won’t be able to hide for very long. With surveillance cameras, they are highly likely to be caught in the act.
From 2019 to 2023, around 18,000 robberies occurred each year — a large drop from years prior.
It is an 83% decline from 1992, when 21,954 robberies took place. 2023 was also the first year with no recorded deaths from bank robberies. Only 20 years prior, in 2003, 21 deaths were recorded.
The decline in bank robberies may be attributed to fewer people using cash, facial-recognition technology getting better, and similar factors.