A Hesperus woman has been arrested on suspicion of robbing a bank in Albuquerque, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice in New Mexico.
Keylee Rose Moore, 21, is suspected of entering a New Mexico Bank and Trust on June 1 on Louisiana Boulevard and passing a note to a bank teller demanding money, according to the release. The teller handed money to Moore, and she walked out and fled, according to the release.
The FBI received a tip June 6 identifying Moore as the person who allegedly robbed the bank, according to the release.
Moore was arrested June 17 at her home in Hesperus.
According to a criminal complaint, the robbery occurred about noon. Based on witnesses and security camera images, the suspect was described as being 20 years old, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a slim build. She was wearing a blonde-colored wig, dark-colored trench coat, dark-colored boots, dark-colored purse, a face mask and green eye shadow.
The suspect placed a note on the bank teller’s counter that read: “Put all the money in a bag, if anyone asks I’m closing my account. Do not panic, there is a man with my sister at gunpoint. If we don’t get away, we both die. Please wait at least 15 nutes before you call. e will kill us if I don’t get the money.” Part of the note was torn, and a few words had missing letters, according to the affidavit.
The bank teller gave the woman money from the teller drawer, and she left the bank on foot.
Security cameras from a residential neighborhood on the east side of the bank showed a woman matching the description of the robbery suspect and a four-door, dark-colored SUV with light-colored fenders and bumpers.
On June 6, a tipster identified Moore as a possible suspect, according to the complaint. The tipster, an apparent acquaintance, said Moore was “in over her head,” and had at times both admitted and denied to being involved with the bank robbery, according to the complaint.
The tipster said she recognized the suspect’s purse from surveillance photographs. The tipster said Moore shaved her head in the fall and had been wearing various wigs since then.
The tipster also reported having the ability to track Moore’s cellphone, and noticed she was in Albuquerque near Louisiana Boulevard about midday June 1. The previous two days, the iPhone showed it was at a Motel 6 in Moriarty, New Mexico, about 40 miles east of Albuquerque along Interstate 40.
The tipster also reported that Moore confessed to the robbery when confronted with a picture from the bank robbery. The tipster said Moore returned to Hesperus from New Mexico without any money because a gang she was associated with took the money. The tipster said she recognized the boots and purse as belonging to Moore.
The bank reported a financial loss of about $158, according to the affidavit.
Using Facebook, investigators searched for Keylee Rose Moore and observed a vehicle in one of the pictures that is consistent with the one used at the time of the robbery.
Investigators obtained Moore’s driver’s license photo and compared it with the images captured of the woman seen inside the bank. They also conducted surveillance at her home in Hesperus and observed a vehicle parked at the home that resembles the one on security footage at the bank, according to the affidavit.
The FBI executed a search warrant at Moore’s house and seized boots and a purse that matched the appearance of those worn by the suspect, according to the complaint. Moore admitted to robbing the bank and obtaining about $150 in the heist. She said two other people involved with the robbery took the wig, jacket and money after the robbery.
Moore made an initial appearance Tuesday in federal court on suspicion of bank robbery.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Southwest Drug Task Force, La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and the Albuquerque Police Department.
shane@durangoherald.com
