Albuquerque Bank Robbers Sentenced to Prison

ALBUQUERQUE—Earlier today in Albuquerque federal court, Albuquerque residents Erik Michael Mathis, 19, and Mondreon Yuson Haywood, 21, were sentenced for their respective bank robbery convictions. Mathis was sentenced to a 42-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release, while Haywood was sentenced to a 48-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Both men have been in federal custody since their arrests on June 25, 2010.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Mathis and Haywood were arrested for robbing the Compass Bank branch located at

6001 Academy Road NE

in Albuquerque on June 25, 2010. According to the criminal complaints filed against the two bank robbers, Mathis and Haywood entered the bank together at approximately 9:30 a.m. on June 25, 2010 and approached separate bank tellers with verbal demands for cash. In their plea agreements, Mathis and Haywood admitted that Haywood brandished a pair of scissors at the teller when he demanded cash. Mathis and Haywood fled the bank on foot after the tellers provided them with money.

The complaints allege that, based on a tip from a reliable source, officers of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) went to the vicinity of 4537 Samara Road NW in Albuquerque where they observed two men fitting the descriptions of the robbers (the suspects) get into a vehicle; drive to 4537 Samara Road NW (the residence); and pull onto that property. When the APD officers detained the suspects and the vehicle, they observed a pair of scissors on the dashboard of the vehicle. APD officers continued their investigation by arranging for two bank employees to observe the suspects from a distance. They arrested the suspects after both bank employees positively identified the suspects as the men who robbed the bank.

The APD officers identified the suspects as Mathis and Haywood and learned that Mathis resided at the residence. After obtaining permission from the homeowner to clear the residence, the officers observed a large amount of money spread out on a bed in Mathis' bedroom. The APD officers and agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recovered more than $10,000 and other evidence related to the bank robbery from Mathis' bedroom when they executed a search warrant at the residence later that day.

Mathis and Haywood both entered guilty pleas on November 4, 2010 under plea agreements with the United States Attorney’s Office.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack E. Burkhead and was investigated by the APD and FBI.