A man who robbed a Clairemont bank then led police on a chase that ended in the Midway District pleaded guilty Wednesday to robbery, felony evading and other charges.
Oscar Esteban Valle, 28, faces a maximum of 11 years and eight months in state prison at a hearing June 10.
Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber said police were on alert last Sept. 20 because banks in San Diego had been robbed the previous two Saturdays.
About 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 20, Valle robbed the Wells Fargo bank on Balboa Avenue near Genesee, the prosecutor said.
Bank teller Raul Bernal testified during a December preliminary hearing that he was robbed by a man wearing a black rag over his face.
“He said, ‘Give me money. You know what this is,”‘ Bernal testified.
According to court testimony, Valle fled after taking money from two other tellers.
Thanks to a tracking device put in a bag with the stolen money, police followed Valle’s car for 10 minutes into the Midway District.
Koerber said a police helicopter caught Valle throwing clothing and money out of his vehicle, which he eventually crashed into a parked patrol car.
Police said Valle abandoned his vehicle and ran barefoot between cars on the Interstate 8 offramp near Sports Arena Boulevard before being arrested.
Valle — who went to prison in 2010 for auto theft — also pleaded guilty today to being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and being an ex- felon in possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
—City News Service
