3rd Trial Starts for Alleged Leader of Home Invasion Ring

The third trial opened Monday for a Santa Clarita man who allegedly masterminded a home invasion robbery ring that targeted female bank officers, holding them and their families hostage and then forcing them to open bank vaults.

Alex Yepes was a clever, greedy bank robber who came up with a near-perfect plan but who was so avaricious, he even lied to his accomplices so he could keep more of the cash, Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Chasworth told jurors Monday.

Wtih three of his alleged accomplices in prison, Yepes, 27, won acquittal on federal bank robbery charges in 1994, and a lone juror forced a mistrial in 1995 on state charges of kidnapping, assault, false imprisonment and burglary.

Yepes contends he was wrongfully accused by one of the real culprits, who struck a plea bargain with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony and has changed his story various times.

Yepes was identified by witnesses only after they already knew he was a suspect, his lawyer, Joseph Gutierrez, told the Superior Court jury Monday.

“There is no physical or scientific evidence that links my client to the crime,” Gutierrez said. “Really, the only time a witness is able to make a positive [identification] is when they get to court months and months later and see the defendant in court with a lawyer.”

Yepes also has two alibis: A friend said Yepes was with her when the first crime was being committed, and his wife, who claims he was with her during the second successful robbery.

But Chasworth countered that cellular telephone records put him at the scene of the crime, that he was identified by witnesses and that his alleged accomplice-turned-accuser has more reason to tell the truth than to lie. His immunity is only valid if he tells the truth in court, she said.

She said Yepes is a manipulator who is still trying to control those around him by presenting himself to the jury as “a clean-cut man, a victim,” when in fact he was the brains behind a sophisticated crime ring.

“Mr. Yepes was greedier and he thought he would be smarter and more sophisticated” than your average bank robber, Chasworth said. “It was greed that eventually got him caught.”

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Chasworth said the group followed bank officers around to learn their habits and where they lived, then attacked them at gunpoint at home, tying up family members, children and friends while quizzing the bank employee to learn how best to pull off the heist. The next morning, the victim was forced to go to work and open the vault, knowing that her family was still being held at gunpoint.

The robbers targeted the TransWorld Bank in Canyon Country--once unsuccessfully--and later hit the Coast Federal Bank in Northridge.

They dressed in black and masked their faces, used walkie-talkies and police scanners, and sprayed paint on surveillance cameras to try to evade capture as they escaped with more than $100,000 from each vault.

Their downfall came when they began spending lavishly, Chasworth said. After the robberies, Yepes bought two cars with cash, and he and his accomplices took trips to Cancun and Las Vegas.

Chad and Brett Pelch, sons of a Los Angeles police sergeant, each received life sentences for their roles in the crimes. Darren Patrick Towers received a 15-year prison sentence after confessing to the FBI and entering into a plea bargain with prosecutors. A fourth suspect remains at large.

A federal jury acquitted Yepes in 1994 of conspiracy and bank robbery charges.

Yepes and his accomplices then were brought up on state charges in connection with home invasion, which he is now facing a second time.