A bank robber who resorted to a fake explosive device to threaten people at a bank and rob the place has finally been arrested. Identified as Fidel Ybarra, the man confessed to the crime, involving at least two other people – Thomas Domingo Bustos and Brelyn Sanchez.
Trio Indicted over Credit Union Robbery
Ybarra told investigators that he had been forced by Bustos to rob a credit union. Bustos allegedly issued threats to his family, and Sanchez was supposedly the getaway driver. Both Bustos and Sanchez pled not guilty on Friday, October 2.
The original case dates back to September 4, 2026, when Ybarra went into an American First Credit Union in South Salt Lake. He passed a note to the teller, asking for cash, and warned that he would trigger an explosive device inside his bag.
He unzipped his bag, showing the teller a device that was made to look like an explosive. The teller complied, handing over $1,234. Ybarra then fled the scene in a Dodge Durango driven by Sanchez, according to investigators.
Ybarra said that Bustos had accused him of a $19,000 debt accumulated at a casino in West Wendover, Nevada, threatening his family and him. To settle the debt with Bustos, Ybarra agreed to commit the crime, prosecutors maintain.
Bustos Pinned to the Location
Bustos later took the $1,234. Upon interviewing Sanchez, prosecutors found out that Ybarra owed $9,000 to Bustos, as per Sanchez’s account, but that she did not know anything about robbing a credit union.
Prosecutors have been able to quickly place Bustos at the location, pinning his red BMW near the venue, as well as using cellular location data, which showed his phone in the area. Bustos has also pleaded not guilty. A federal grand jury has indicted all three people involved on one count of credit union robbery.