Las Vegas Man Sentenced To Prison For Robbing Bank With A Fake Bomb

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man who told his apartment manager that he was going to rob a bank so he could pay his rent, and then robbed a bank with a fake bomb, was sentenced today to 46 months in prison and five years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada.

Robert Lynn Dufloth, 65, pleaded guilty in January to robbing the Wells Fargo Bank located at 3800 Howard Hughes Parkway. United States District Judge Kent Dawson presided over the sentencing hearing.

On January 10, Dufloth handed a bank teller a note that said he was robbing the bank and to give him the money “and no one will get hurt.” He then showed the teller a device with a red button in his hand and threatened to press the button, implying by gestures that the button was a trigger for an explosive device. The teller put approximately $536 in an envelope. Dufloth left the bank with the stolen money.

Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reviewed video surveillance of the robbery and canvased the area. Officers quickly identified Dufloth and learned he was a long-time resident at a nearby weekly rental complex. The manager of the property reported that when she confronted Dufloth earlier about late rent, he told her not to worry, that he would rob a bank. Between the time of the robbery and when the officers arrived at the weekly rental complex, Dufloth had paid his rent in cash. On January 11, after Dufloth was identified as the robber in a photo line-up, officers executed a search warrant at his residence. During the search, the officers found and seized the device used during the bank robbery.

Dufloth has a total of 10 previous felony convictions dating back to 1972, including a prior robbery conviction in 1980.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Cowhig prosecuted the case.