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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Detective Outside During Bank Robbery
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
Timing is everything.
Just ask David Sena, who allegedly robbed a bank Monday while an Albuquerque police detective was parked outside.
Now Sena, 28, is facing federal bank robbery charges.
"This was a case of bad luck coupled with opportunity," Albuquerque police spokesman John Walsh said. "The detective had the opportunity, and this bandit had the bad luck."
According to federal court records, Sena walked into New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union on the 2800 block of Juan Tabo NE on Monday wearing a camouflage smock over his mouth and nose. Once inside, he yelled that he was robbing the bank and demanded that everyone get on the ground.
Sena then went to several tellers and told them to put money in a green bag, according to court records.
But before the robbery attempt, a witness who was outside saw Sena and called 911. A dispatcher broadcast the information on police frequencies.
Albuquerque police Detective Jodi Gonterman was about 200 feet from the bank's front doors when she heard the dispatch on her radio and realized she was at the bank.
She didn't see Sena enter. Instead, a masked Sena left just as Gonterman pulled her police car toward the bank's front door. She followed him to a getaway vehicle, a Toyota pickup, according to court records.
Gonterman called for backup as she followed the pickup.
Sena sped up, ran two red lights and eventually was captured when he pulled into the driveway of his home in the 1400 block of Nambe NE, according to court records.
Police found a "bait bill" and cash taken from the bank inside the pickup. There was also a loaded handgun in the yard of Sena's house.
According to court records, Sena was convicted in 1999 of aggravated battery in Santa Fe County District Court. He was sentenced to one year of probation.
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