Two More “Wig Bandits” Sentenced to Prison

January 19, 2010 - Two of the “Wig Bandits,” Marco Antonio Serrano, 19, a Mexican citizen living in Phoenix, and Sabrina Martina Feliciano, 39, of Phoenix, were sentenced today to federal prison by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell. Serrano, who pled guilty on July 14, 2009 to two counts of Armed Bank Robbery and one count of Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, was sentenced to 22 years. Feliciano, who pled guilty on June 24, 2009 to one count of Armed Bank Robbery, was sentenced to eight years.

Marco Serrano was one of the armed “Wig Bandits” in each of the seven armed bank robberies the group committed in the summer of 2008. He brandished a loaded handgun as he jumped teller counters and threatened to kill the tellers as he stole money. Sabrina Feliciano, the wife of the group’s leader, “cased” banks for the group, bought disguises, and was a getaway driver. Both Serrano and Feliciano received some of the robbery proceeds for their work.

All but one of the seven co-defendants have been sentenced. The remaining co-defendant and leader of the group, Julio Cesar Feliciano, Jr., 46, of Phoenix, was convicted at trial of five armed bank robberies involving multiple firearms and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 82 years. He will be sentenced March 1, 2010 by Judge Campbell.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Glendale Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, and Avondale Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Alison S. Bachus and Dimitra H. Sampson, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.