“Skateboard Bandit” Pleads Guilty to Serial Bank Robbery

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today Jared Sung Yoon Herdt, 30, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to a series of bank robberies. Herdt has agreed to pay restitution for all of his bank robberies. He is in federal custody pending sentencing.

This case is the product of an investigation of the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rodriguez is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, Herdt pleaded guilty to five bank robberies:

1.Wells Fargo Bank, 3424 Dale Road, Modesto on January 5, 2009.

2.Wells Fargo Bank, 2010 Goldfield Drive, Rancho Cordova on April 25, 2009.

3.Bank of America, 1821Pioneer Parkway, Springfield, Oregon on January 16, 2009.

4.Wells Fargo Bank, 3195 Meridian Ave., San Jose on February 24, 2009.

5.Wells Fargo Bank, 65 North Winchester Blvd., Santa Clara on February 24, 2009.

For purposes of restitution, he additionally admitted robbing a Wells Fargo Bank at 9407 Madison Avenue in Orangevale on April 25, 2009.

During the robberies, Herdt claimed he had a firearm. The task force dubbed the perpetrator the “Skateboard Bandit” because tellers in some robberies indicated the robber fled via skateboard to an unknown location where he had a getaway vehicle.

On April 27, 2010, a search of a stolen vehicle recovered in Sunnyvale resulted in the recovery of $4,900 in cash, a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol, a skateboard, and a receipt for a dentist in Oregon. The dentist positively identified surveillance photos of the bank robber as Herdt.

Herdt is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2011 by United States District Judge William B. Shubb. He faces up to 100 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1.25 million. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.