Getaway Driver, Accomplice Face Life Behind Bars In SMC Heist

REDWOOD CITY, CA — The getaway driver and a man who cased a Daly City bank before it was taken over by armed robbers who stole more than $11,000 at gunpoint last year were convicted of felony armed robbery and felony false imprisonment Monday, and now face life in prison, San Mateo County prosecutors said.

Leroy Wilson and Gabriel Mosby, 50 and 58 respectively, were waiting outside in a gold Cadillac registered to Wilson while their accomplices robbed the First National Bank on Mission Street on Sept. 15, 2016.

Deon Taylor, 51, and Daniel Velazquez-Cordero, 43, allegedly wore masks and brandished a handgun while demanding money, taking $11,195 from the cash drawers as well as $500 in cash and some credit cards from a customer's purse, then fled in Wilson's Cadillac, where Mosby was seen in the passenger seat.

He'd also been seen inside the bank, effectively casing it, 25 minutes before the robbery, according to the district attorney's office.

Wilson was caught three days later when his girlfriend used the credit cards stolen from a customer in another county, officials said. At the time, he had cash from the bank robbery, a .22-caliber handgun and methamphetamine that was thought to be for sale.

Wilson's girlfriend isn't facing any charges in San Mateo County, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

This is a three-strike case for Wilson and Mosby, who may be facing life sentences when they return to court for sentencing at a date not yet determined. Meanwhile, both men remain in custody on no-bail status.

All four defendants were initially charged together, but Taylor and Velazquez-Cordero had their cases separated. Taylor's attorney suffered an injury and his portion of the trial was postponed for medical reasons, Wagstaffe said. Velazquez-Cordero's case got separated when a judge ruled that some of the evidence presented came to light too late to be admissible.

"These two guys thought they could do better without the others, but they guessed wrong, didn't they?" Wagstaffe said Tuesday. "They're both looking at life sentences."

— By Bay City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone