Florida bank bandit on a bike gets pedaling to federal prison

FLORIDA – A Hialeah man who made his getaway from a bank robbery on a bicycle has been sentenced to over a decade in federal prison.

Ariel Valero, 45, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga to over 11 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to court documents, on December 26, 2019, Valero entered a Wells Fargo bank located in Miramar, Broward County, Florida, covered head-to-toe in a black jumpsuit and ski mask. Upon entering the bank, Valero is said to have brandished a black firearm, jumped onto the teller counter, threatened the tellers, and stole $30,959.99 in cash.

Surveillance footage captured Valero leaving the robbery scene on a bicycle, pedaling for a couple of blocks, and then dumping the bicycle in the nearby plaza. A forensic examination of the bicycle seat reportedly revealed the presence of Valero’s DNA.

A jury convicted Valero of armed bank robbery.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.

FBI Miami investigated the case with assistance from the Miramar Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Catherine Koontz and Ajay Alexander prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-60020.