Two Los Angeles men were each sentenced Friday to decades behind bars for carrying out a string of robberies attributed to the “Cowboy Gun Bandits” — so named because of a distinctive long-barreled Colt six-shooter used in the heists.
Dominic Dorsey, 51 of Hollywood, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, while his 74-year-old co-defendant, Reginald Bailey, of Jefferson Park, received a 35-year stretch. U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder also ordered the men to each pay a share of $58,700 in restitution.
The defendants were convicted three years ago of 11 felony robbery and firearms counts. Evidence presented to the federal jury in Los Angeles proved Dorsey and Bailey were guilty of eight armed robberies.
Many of the winter 2013 holdups at filling stations in Woodland Hills, Newhall, Encino, Thousand Oaks and Atwater Village, and a Citibank branch in Glendale were captured by video surveillance cameras, which allowed investigators to determine that one of the masked robbers was missing part of his ring finger on his left hand. That evidence helped lead authorities to Bailey.
In one instance, Dorsey’s face and distinctive sneakers can be seen on video as he bought and pumped gas before robbing the filling station wearing the same shoes, evidence showed.
The Colt 1873 revolver that gave the bandits their name was never recovered.