Orlando, FL – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Ricardo Rodriguez (24) and Brandon Mojica (23), both of Deltona, have pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during that robbery. Each faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison for the armed robbery, to be followed by a mandatory consecutive sentence of at least 7 years for the firearm charge. Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2017, and Mojica is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2017.
According to the plea agreements, on November 8, 2016, Rodriguez brandished a firearm and forced two bank employees, including Mojica, to provide access to the safe of a bank in Lake Mary. Rodriguez took $296,600 from the safe and physically restrained both employees before fleeing the bank. Responding officers from the Lake Mary Police Department quickly located, pursued, and apprehended Rodriguez following a high-speed chase. They also recovered the cash that Rodriguez had stolen from the bank and the firearm used during the robbery. Further investigation revealed that Mojica had assisted Rodriguez in planning the robbery by providing information concerning the bank and its employees in advance.
This case was investigated by the Lake Mary Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Emily C. L. Chang.