On July 16, 2014, three armed suspects

robbed Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

Bank of the West Bank of the West is an American financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. It is a subsidiary of the French international banking group BNP Paribas and has more than 600 branches and offices in the Midwes ...

branch in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

. After taking three

hostages A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

, the suspects fled the scene, pursued by officers of the Stockton Police Department (SPD) in an hour-long pursuit that ended in a

shootout A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

. Over the course of the incident, almost 1,000 rounds were exchanged between police and the suspects. Though no police officers or bystanders were hurt, two suspects were killed, two hostages were injured, one hostage was killed by police gunfire, and numerous vehicles and other property were damaged or destroyed. A fourth suspect was also arrested after the incident.

Background

Bank of the West is an American

financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial insti ...

headquartered in nearby

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, operating around 600 branches in the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The branch that was robbed was located in northern Stockton, at 7810 Thornton Road. July 16 was the Thornton Road branch's final day of business; it was slated to permanently close at the end of that day. In 2012, the City of Stockton filed for bankruptcy. The Stockton Police Department was greatly affected by the bankruptcy, which stripped them of 100 veteran officers, reduced the quality of their training, limited their ability to purchase equipment, and forced them to replace staffing losses with inexperienced rookies. The department also lacked

police aviation Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...

resources and were required to request air support from other agencies, such as the

San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office provides police services for San Joaquin County, California. Established in 1849, the current sheriff is Patrick Withrow, who heads a department of over 800 sworn and support personnel. He also serves as th ...

(SJCSD) and the

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

(CHP). At the time of the incident, however, only two police aircraft were nearby: an SJCSD

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...

with their narcotic unit, and a CHP

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

based in

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, 65 miles away from Stockton. The suspects—Pablo Ruvalcaba, Jaime Ramos, Gilbert Renteria, and Alex Martinez—were believed to be part of the

Norteños Norteños (Spanish: meaning ''Northerners''; ''Norteñas'' for females) are the various, affiliated gangs that pay tribute to Nuestra Familia while in California state and federal correctional facilities. Norteños may refer to Northern Calif ...

street gang, which was selling

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

in Stockton. Investigators had been gathering information and intelligence on Renteria and Martinez in the years prior to the robbery. A complaint filed in November 2008 named Renteria and Martinez alongside other defendants for possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

for sale, marijuana cultivation, and street terrorism. Two of the suspects, believed to be Renteria and Martinez, had robbed the same Bank of the West branch only five months prior, on January 31, 2014.

Events

Robbery

Shortly after 2:00 p.m., a dark-colored four-door

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

parked outside the Bank of the West branch, driven by Ruvalcaba and containing Ramos, Renteria, and Martinez, who exited the Buick. Wearing hoodies, baseball caps, fake facial hair, and backpacks, and armed with an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...

and

handguns A handgun is a short-gun barrel, barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also ...

, the three of them approached the bank. They grabbed 41-year-old Misty Holt-Singh, who was using the ATM at the front of the building with her 12-year-old daughter Mia waiting in her car, and dragged her into the bank as they entered. Ruvalcaba left the scene in his Buick. The suspects took Holt-Singh hostage, alongside branch manager Kelley Huber; the tellers, including teller Stephanie Koussaya; the branch's

security guard A security guard (also known as a security inspector, security officer, or protective agent) is a person employed by a government or private party to protect the employing party's assets (property, people, equipment, money, etc.) from a variety ...

; and several customers. Huber recognized two of the suspects from the January robbery. One of the suspects ordered Huber to open the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

, and though they were disappointed with the low amount of money inside, they still managed to fill at least one backpack with money. Though Huber was unable to activate the robbery alarm, a Bank of the West security employee noticed the robbery on their

security camera A closed-circuit television camera can produce images or recordings for surveillance or other private purposes. Cameras can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Walter Bruch was the inventor of the CCTV camera. The main purpose o ...

feed and alerted the SPD; additionally, a passing pedestrian witnessing the robbery flagged down a passing police officer, who reported the robbery to dispatch. SPD officers across the city, including a group conducting K-9 training, responded to the call. SPD Chief Eric Jones learned of the robbery while conducting a news interview about new police hires, and promptly ended the interview to monitor the situation. Attempting to flee before police could arrive, the suspects asked if anyone had a vehicle they could use; Huber offered the keys to her blue second generation Ford Explorer. As they left for Huber's car, bringing Huber with them, they noticed a police officer taking position in the parking lot and retreated back into the building. The suspects asked Huber for a second exit, but Huber lied and claimed the only exit was the front entrance. The suspects took three hostages—Huber, Holt-Singh, and Koussaya—and exited the bank, holding the hostages as leverage. An officer who had previously responded to the January robbery ordered the suspects to surrender, and noted that, while two of the suspects appeared willing to surrender, the third one, their apparent leader, continued on. Though the officer contemplated shooting the suspects or the tires of the Explorer, he decided not to, out of fears that the bullet would go through and strike a hostage or bystander.

Pursuit

At 2:17 p.m., the suspects made it to Huber's Explorer and, after entering the vehicle with the hostages, ordered Huber to drive through the parking lot exit that was not blocked by police. Five blocks from the bank, a suspect in the back accidentally shot Huber in the leg; the bullet passed through her thigh and her ankle, shattering the bone. As Huber could no longer drive, the suspect at the front opened the driver-side door and pushed her out of the Explorer, taking her seat and driving away with the remaining two hostages. Huber survived and was treated at the scene by officers before an ambulance transported her to a hospital. Shortly after, a

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team secured the bank and freed the remaining hostages. Several blocks from the bank, the rear windshield of the Explorer was blown out by gunfire from the suspects, and one suspect armed with an AK-47 took a position at the rear of the vehicle. At 2:20 p.m., the suspect with the AK-47 fired at the lead pursuing police car, destroying its tires. Further shots were fired at the intersection of Thornton Road and Wagner Heights, and the suspects continued to sporadically fire at police throughout the pursuit. SPD units across the city, told to remain in their respective beats, could not bear standing by while hearing the pursuit unfold over their radios and joined the pursuit. Several officers messaged their loved ones out of fears they would be hurt or killed in the pursuit, while others tried to rationalize the danger they were in. By 2:33 p.m., the pursuit continued northbound on

California State Route 99 State Route 99 (SR 99), commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 (without any further designation), is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley. Fr ...

toward Lodi. By now, the pursuit had reached approximately 120 mph, and over 50 police vehicles had joined the pursuit, including the SPD SWAT's

Lenco BearCat The Lenco BearCat is a wheeled SWAT vehicle designed for military and law enforcement use. It is in use by several military forces and law enforcement agencies around the world. History Since 1981 the Massachusetts-based Lenco Industries, known ...

armored vehicle and a SJCSD plane. Police briefly lost the suspects as it left the freeway into Lodi, but they were eventually located and returned to Route 99. After passing through Lodi, the suspects briefly left Route 99 before returning to the freeway southbound back to Stockton. At 2:48 p.m., the Explorer pulled off the highway at the Morada Lane exit, using the trees and brush at the exit in an attempt to

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

the pursuing officers. SPD Captain Doug Anderson, who was responding to the pursuit and had been attempting to intercept the suspects, noticed the Explorer and, realizing what they were doing, shot at the suspects, forcing the Explorer to flee westbound on Morada Lane. In retrospect, police were certain that, had Anderson not noticed the ambush attempt, the suspects likely would have killed an officer. Minutes later, the BearCat attempted to perform a

PIT maneuver The PIT maneuver (precision immobilization technique) or TVI (tactical vehicle intervention) is a pursuit tactic by which a pursuing car can force a fleeing car to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop. It was d ...

on the Explorer, but missed; the suspects promptly shot out one of the BearCat's tires, forcing it to withdraw. Around 2:57 p.m., the suspects went on

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

toward Stockton for eight miles before pulling off the highway, attempting to set up another ambush; the SJCSD plane notified the pursuing officers of this, and the suspects and police briefly exchanged fire before the pursuit continued. After the pursuit entered a residential area of Stockton, Koussaya, noticing the BearCat and fearing being caught in the crossfire between SWAT and the suspects, attempted to discreetly unlock the door of the Explorer to escape. At 3:15 p.m., she leapt out of the Explorer as it was traveling at roughly 50 mph. Several officers pulled to the side and treated her injuries before an ambulance could arrive. The suspects eventually returned to Thornton Road, where they encountered several officers on foot. The suspects and the officers exchanged gunfire, and the officers managed to shoot out the Explorer's tires. Half a mile later, the Explorer came to a stop on a four-lane stretch of road.

Shootout

The pursuing officers stopped behind the Explorer and fanned out across the street, using cruisers, trees, and

street furniture Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed along streets and roads for various purposes. It includes benches, traffic barriers, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, traffic lights, traffic ...

as cover. Officers promptly opened fire on the vehicle, firing over 600 rounds at the suspects before a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

ordered the officers to cease fire. Several officers noted chaos and confusion as other officers fired in the general direction of the Explorer and not at specific targets. The BearCat arrived and, despite having a tire disabled, was used as moving cover for the SWAT team as they approached the vehicle and opened the doors. Renteria and Martinez were both fatally shot by police, though only one of them died at the scene (it is unclear exactly who); the other suspect was alive, but died while being transported to a hospital. Holt-Singh was dead, lying on the floorboard of the Explorer. The SWAT team found Ramos lying under her, alive and practically unharmed; the SPD alleged he used her as a

human shield A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...

. Ramos surrendered to police and was promptly taken into custody.

Aftermath

Between 700 and 1,000 rounds were fired by police and the suspects over the course of the pursuit and shootout: approximately 600 by police and 100 by the suspects. Over the course of the pursuit, 14 police vehicles were damaged or disabled by gunfire from the suspects. SPD Chief Eric Jones shared details of the incident with the media, and confirmed that police bullets that killed Holt-Singh. The 33 officers who discharged their weapons over the course of the incident were questioned and put on administrative leave. Chief Jones spoke with officers and organized the SPD's Wellness System to ensure his officers' mental well-being. He also visited the surviving hostages and their families, as well as Holt-Singh's family, apologizing for what happened and offering the SPD's support for them. Representatives for all three hostages filed intents to sue the City of Stockton for the actions of the police officers. The Bank of the West Thornton Road branch closed after the robbery, as that was the branch's final day in operation. The location, 7810 Thornton Road, is now a

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

Investigation

SPD investigators were already investigating Renteria and Martinez for gang and narcotic crimes. Following the robbery, detectives reinvestigated the previous robbery from January and confirmed that two of the suspects had committed that same robbery. They noticed a similar ''

modus operandi A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...

'': the robbers were armed, had similar disguises, were dropped off by a driver, and left in vehicles owned by employees. Ramos, the only surviving robber, was taken into custody at the scene, and was charged with three counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder of police officers. The SPD alleged he used Holt-Singh to shield himself from police gunfire, causing her death. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison. Ruvalcaba was initially announced to be a

person of interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

, as investigators were not certain of his involvement. He turned himself in on September 16 and was released the same day. Following further investigation, he was arrested without incident by federal agents in

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

on December 22, and was charged with aiding and abetting. In 2016, he received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockton bank robbery, 2014 2014 in Los Angeles 2014 crimes in California Bank robberies Stockton, California Hostage taking in the United States July 2014 crimes in the United States July 2014 events in the United States Attacks in the United States in 2014