One of two men who admitted to a series of bank robberies in Orange County and Long Beach faces 5 to 10 years in federal prison, the defendant’s attorney said Tuesday.
Chad Dupape, 29, of Fountain Valley, who pleaded guilty Monday to four armed bank robberies and attempted robberies, faces 5 to 10 years behind bars, his attorney, Dean Steward, said.
It was not clear how much time was faced by co-defendant Vincent Edward Wilson of Long Beach, 53, who also pleaded guilty Monday. The plea deals were sealed in court records.
The two men were associated with the “Bladed Bandit” stickups, according to Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The nickname was a reference to a large knife brandished in one of the stickups.
The Bladed Bandit robberies were:
— Jan. 2 at a Chase Bank branch in Seal Beach in which the $21,000 was stolen;
— Jan. 16 attempted robbery at Farmers & Merchants Bank branch in Long Beach;
— Jan. 16 attempted robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Fountain Valley and;
— Jan. 18 robbery at a U.S. Bank branch in Fountain Valley.
Dupape admitted he brandished a knife in one robbery and a handgun in another, Mrozek said.
Wilson pleaded guilty to the Chase Bank and U.S. Bank robberies while admitting he drove Dupape to both stickups and that he was the lookout for the Chase heist, Mrozek said.
Dupape was scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 20. Wilson was scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 19.