A man who robbed a La Mesa credit union at knifepoint pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge.
Rafeek Omar Karamat, 35, of San Diego faces a maximum possible term of 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced Feb. 22 for robbing the Navy Federal Credit Union branch on Grossmont Boulevard.
Just before 10 a.m. Sept. 30, Karamat approached a teller, brandished a knife, and said, “Give me money,” and “Give me what I came for,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The teller gave him about $2,500 in cash. Karamat fled the scene in a white Ford Ranger, prosecutors said.
La Mesa police spotted the suspect’s vehicle and followed him west into San Diego. They stopped him in the 4500 block of Winona Avenue, according to the criminal complaint filed in San Diego federal court.
They found cash inside the vehicle, court documents state, and Karamat admitted to investigators that he robbed the credit union.
– City News Service
