Federal robbery charges could soon be filed against the “hooded safe bandits” following the arrest of yet another member of the prolific robbers, officials said.
Manuelito Santistevan, 26, who was driven by his bondsman to a Safeway parking lot at West 38th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard shortly after midnight, is currently being held for investigation of state robbery charges.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the string of 23 robberies in nine cities and counties in the area. They soon could be charged in federal court for their involvement in the robberies, FBI spokeswoman Rene Vonder Haar said this morning.
“This is a huge accomplishment to get someone we considered armed and dangerous off the streets,” Vonder Haar said. “We’re still making a determination of who is involved and to what extent.”
Santistevan was taken into custody by FBI and area police who are part of the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and taken to the Wheat Ridge Police Department.
Santistevan was driven to a Safeway parking lot at West 38th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard shortly after midnight. Santistevan was shirtless and wearing his nephew’s shorts, reportedly to show that his was going into custody without bruises.
“I’m scared, Mom!’ he yelled to his mother, Ruby.
His 15-year-old nephew, Cameron Barker, who was with Santistevan prior to the arrest, said he had switched pants with his uncle before the dropoff.
“My uncle’s not that way!” Barker said, in tears. “He’s not the way they say he is.”
The surrender came about three hours into the second vigil of the day by law enforcement, media and his mother. Authorities had also been told by Ruby Santistevan that he was turning himself in early that morning. But he never showed.
Ruby Santistevan had told police and reporters that her son planned to come in peacefully. She asked the media to be on hand for fear authorities would shoot him.
“I just don’t want him to get hurt,” she said during the wait. “He’s not armed, and he’s not dangerous. ”
Early during the evening stakeout, police apprehended a woman believed to be Santistevan’s girlfriend, who was wanted for questioning.
Officers handcuffed a weeping Tiffany Bryan, who was driven into the parking lot about 10 p.m.
Santistevan is wanted for his alleged involvement in a gang called the “Hooded Safe Bandits” and for an incident on Aug. 22 when an undercover Denver police officer was doing surveillance of Santistevan as he and a female passenger were driving in an SUV.
The police surveillance turned into a chase. Edith Mack, a tutor in English as a second language at Molholm Elementary School, suffered a broken hip when the unmarked Dodge pickup struck and flipped her car in Lakewood.
The Denver Police Department is investigating whether Denver police Detective Clement Bourgeois, who wasn’t injured, violated pursuit policy.
The “Hooded Safe Bandits” got their name because they enter businesses wearing hoods and masks, point guns at employees and order them to open the safe.
The gang has hit businesses including restaurants, stores and coffee shops.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
