Tacoma gang member sentenced for precision bank robberies

A Tacoma gang member, part of a precision team of out-of-town bank robbers, is sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Dion, in Seattle, said the bank robberies last year in Kirkland, Seattle, Lakewood, and Tacoma were timed to get the robbers in and out in just a minute or two. The same gang is tied to bank robberies in Ohio and Michigan.

“And they put a lot of thought into how to avoid being detected and captured and they’ve set it up so basically, if you don’t get them as they come out of the bank, it’s going to be very, very hard.”

Judge Richard A. Jones sentenced Anthony Mosley, 46, for his role in the crimes.

“The home that he shared with his wife became the home base for these sets of Four-Tre gang members who would come from L.A., stay at his home, plot the robberies, case the banks and then execute them,” Dion explained.

The gang has been active since the 1990s. “They’ve done hundreds, maybe thousands of bank robberies over the years and they have really developed and perfected a very sophisticated M.O.,” said Dion, including targeting banks without security barriers around the teller cages, wearing loose clothing to hide their identities and using stolen vehicles or rentals for getaway cars.

Local and federal law enforcement became aware in 2012 that the Tre-Crips bank robbers were operating in western Washington. They arrested five of the defendants on December 22, 2012, shortly after their last bank job, as they boarded a bus to southern California.

Seven defendants have pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle. Three are still awaiting sentencing over the next several months.