Sacramento, California - Phillip Dale Selfa, 63, of Stockton, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years and eight months in prison for six counts of bank robbery, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
On July 7, 2015, Selfa pleaded guilty to robbing the following banks:
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December 27, 2010, Bank of Stockton in Pine Grove for $2,000;
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January 13, 2011, Bank of the West in Lockeford for $4,000;
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February, 25, 2011, Farmers and Merchants Bank in Linden for $351;
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March 30, 2011, Westamerica Bank in Turlock, CA for $4,500;
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April 29, 2011, Bank of the West in Ripon for $3,050, and
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May 5, 2011, Bank of the West in Lodi for $4,037.
In each of his six robberies, Selfa carried boxes, bags, and satchels into the financial institutions. He also displayed a purported detonator during his robberies and claimed to bank personnel that he could set off explosives that were supposedly in his boxes and bags that he left in the banks as he exited. After each robbery, each bank was closed and streets neighboring the banks were barricaded for bomb squad personnel. The bombs and detonators were each determined to be fake. During his robberies, Selfa also wore various disguises and head coverings.
This case was the product of an investigation by the FBI with the assistance from the Stockton Police Department, the Modesto Police Department, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William Wong and Michelle Rodriguez prosecuted the case.