Yuma police make arrest in bank robbery
Yuma police have arrested the man suspected of last month’s armed robbery of a branch of the Washington Federal Bank.
Sgt. Lori Franklin said 34-year-old Victor Zavala was taken into custody at approximately 1:24 p.m. Thursday, after officers performed a traffic stop on his vehicle in the 3200 block of S. 4th Avenue.
An off-duty officer had spotted a suspicious vehicle that had driven around the Washington Federal Bank, located at 100 E. 32nd Street, multiple times.
“The thought is (Zavala) may have been ‘casing’ the bank,” Sgt. Franklin said. “The off-duty officer had been there for personal reasons and spotted the vehicle.”
When officers searched Zavala’s vehicle they also found evidence connecting him to the Oct. 27 armed robbery of the same bank. Sgt. Franklin, however, did not indicate what the evidence was.
Zavala was booked into the Yuma County jail on charges of armed robbery.
The initial investigation into that armed robbery revealed that an unknown male, now believed to be Zavala, entered the bank and demanded money.
While a gun was not seen, the suspect held an unknown covered object in his hand.
The suspect took an undisclosed amount of money and fled the scene, heading west on 32nd Street.
The suspect was described as being a Hispanic male, approximately 6 feet tall, with a medium build, wearing dark colored clothing and a mask covering his face.
Zavala, a resident of Somerton, made his initial appearance in Yuma Justice Court Friday afternoon before Judge Nehomy Echavarria, who informed him of the allegations against him.
Judge Echavarria also told Zavala that the Yuma County Attorney’s Office had two days to determine whether to file a criminal complaint against him, charging him with any of the offenses.
“It wasn’t me,” Zavala said during the proceedings. “There is no evidence to prove it was me.”
When the matter of bond was addressed, attorney Richard Parks, of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office, explained that his client insists his arrest is a case of mistaken identity, and asked that Zavala be released on his own recognizance or to pre-trial services.
Parks added that Zavala is employed and only has one prior criminal conviction, which was for a misdemeanor DUI.
Prosecutor Tom Varela, however, called Zavala a danger to the community and a flight-risk, and asked that his bond be set at $75,000.
“Armed or not, he created a potentially dangerous situation,” Varela said.
Varela, in explaining the reason for asking for such a high bond amount, said that Zavala faces a mandatory prison sentence if it is proven that he has a prior felony offense.
He added more than $3,000 was taken during the bank robbery and that the money was never recovered.
Ultimately, Judge Echavarria ordered that Zavala’s bail be set at $50,000 and scheduled his next court date for 1 p.m. on Nov. 9