Man Gets Life in Prison for Role in Bank Holdups
VAN NUYS — A judge sentenced a second man to life behind bars Thursday for his part in a crime ring that took female bank managers hostage before staging early morning bank robberies.
Chad Pelch, 25, son of Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Dennis Pelch, was sentenced by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles Peven to 14 years plus life in state prison after Pelch’s conviction in April on multiple felony counts including burglary, assault with a firearm and false imprisonment.
Prosecutors contended Pelch was part of a sophisticated group of thieves--including his older brother Brett and childhood friend Alex Yepes--who held female bank managers in their homes overnight before forcing them to open the bank vaults the following morning.
On Tuesday, Peven sent Brett Pelch to state prison for 16 years plus two life terms for robberies in Canyon Country and Northridge in 1993.
Yepes faces retrial in November after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the initial six-month state trial this year.
In addition to the state sentence, Chad Pelch must serve 10 years in federal prison after a conviction on federal bank robbery charges.
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