Seal Beach

Bladed Bandit Who Struck SoCal Banks Gets 7 Years in Federal Prison

Vincent Edward Wilson, 53, of Long Beach, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter.

One of two men subbed the Bladed Bandit for a series of bank heists has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Vincent Edward Wilson, 53, of Long Beach, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who also ordered the defendant to pay $21,611 in restitution to Chase Bank and $3,827 to U.S. Bank, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Pell.

In August, Carter sentenced the other defendant known as the Bladed Bandit to 10 years in prison. Carter also ordered Chad Dupape, 29, of Fountain Valley -- who pleaded guilty in June to four armed bank robberies and attempted robberies -- to pay $21,611 in restitution to Chase bank and $3,837 in restitution to U.S. Bank, Pell said.

Wilson also pleaded guilty in June.

The two men were associated with the "Bladed Bandit'' stickups, a moniker coined in reference to a large knife brandished in one of the robberies, according to U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek.

The pair were linked to:

-- a Jan. 2 heist at a Chase bank branch in Seal Beach in which $21,000 was stolen;

-- a Jan. 16 attempted robbery at a Farmers & Merchants Bank branch in Long Beach;

-- a Jan. 16 attempted robbery at a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Fountain Valley; and

-- a 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 one heist, Mrozek said.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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