According to Madera Police Det. Sgt. Mark Trukki, the suspects, Bobby Tyrone Tidwell Jr., 26, and Raymond Paul Gutierrez, 28, were arrested for their involvement in the attempted burglary after a 911 call was made from the Bank of America building at 501 E. Yosemite Avenue. The police, Trukki said, were called to respond to a pair of vehicles with armed persons inside. They also discovered that a kidnapping had reportedly taken place.
“The victim had reported to them, through a mutual friend, that he had won a large sum of money from the lottery,” Trukki said. “So they had forced him into a vehicle at gunpoint, drove him to the bank, told him to go into the bank, and remove a large amount of money.”
According to Trukki the amount of money won by the victim was approximately $67,000.
Trukki has stated that the victim went in unaccompanied by either suspect, and upon entering the bank, immediately informed the teller, who called the police. Police then arrived, and quickly arrested Tidwell, but by then Gutierrez was gone.
“He had already left the scene,” Trukki said. “So once we arrived, the only subject that was implicated by the victim as being involved with the actual robbery was Mr. Tidwell.”
Gutierrez was arrested the next day on 4th Street by the Special Investigations Unit.
“He went in the bank alone,” Trukki said. “So it wasn’t the smartest, but sometimes, we don’t always catch the smart ones.”
Both Tidwell and Gutierrez are being held on a $1,150,000 bail, and are scheduled to appear in court on February 3 for a preliminary exam.
