A state appellate court panel Tuesday upheld the convictions of two gang members for a bank robbery in Canyon Country that led to a wild chase in which thousands of dollars were thrown out the windows of an SUV in South Los Angeles.
A three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected defense contentions that there were errors in the trial of Terion Lamarr Collins and Lavelle Mosley and insufficient evidence to support an allegation that the crime was committed for the benefit of — or in association with — a criminal street gang.
Collins and Mosley were convicted last year of the Sept. 12, 2012, heist at a Bank of America branch in Canyon Country.
Collins was sentenced in April 2014 to nearly 46 years in state prison, while Mosley was sentenced to 33 years behind bars.
A third man — who contended that he didn’t know anything about the bank robbery and that he was forced to drive into Los Angeles — was acquitted of robbery and evasion charges.
Mosley began throwing money out of the Volvo SUV’s window as the vehicle circled an area within the gang’s territory about 10 to 15 times. The televised chase sparked a circus-like atmosphere in South Los Angeles as people ran into the streets in hopes of scooping up cash, of which about $1,600 was eventually recovered.
Los Angeles police Cmdr. Andy Smith told reporters at the time the money was likely thrown out of the vehicle in an attempt to draw people onto the roadway to block officers.
— Wire reports