Crime & Safety
‘Insistent Bandit’ Pleads Guilty to Twice Robbing a Santee Bank
The El Cajon man targeted Pacific Western Bank in Santee three times, and hit other four other banks. A La Mesa man was convicted of being his getaway driver.
An El Cajon man has entered a guilty plea in federal court after robbing banks in Santee, El Cajon and San Diego and taking more than $16,000.
Steve Edward Ruby, 54, dubbed the “Insistent Bandit,” made the plea before U.S. District Court Judge William Q. Hayes on seven charges, six of bank robbery and one of attempted bank robbery. He appeared in court Tuesday.
An accomplice, Spiros Romensas, 53, of La Mesa, was convicted in April of acting as Ruby's getaway driver in two of the robberies.
Ruby is set to be sentenced on Sept. 3, while Romensas faces sentencing on July 15.
Ruby told authorities he robbed Pacific Western Bank, 9955 Mission Gorge Road, Santee, taking $3,103.
He returned again on Valentine's Day 2012, but tellers noticed him and refused to open security doors for him.
In the first robbery at Pacific Western, Ruby said he told the teller, “This is a robbery. I am not kidding. I have a gun. I’ll shoot it. Give me all your loose money.” Upon his return, according to his plea agreement, he approached the same teller, and said, “We’re going to do this again. Give me all your loose bills starting with your third drawer and no bait.”
That is part of how Ruby acquired the insistent tag – authorities described his manner as loud, demanding and threatening, lifting his shirt to show a gun in his waistband. He also was seen riding a woman’s red mountain bike and wearing a long-sleeved shirt bearing the slogan “Bite Me.”
The distinctive shirt helped the FBI identify Ruby after a San Diego County Sheriffs deputy saw a maroon truck at an El Cajon storage facility. The truck had been seen leaving the scenes of the robberies. Images from the facility's security tapes matched footage from the crime scenes.
The other banks Ruby targeted, and the totals he stole, were:
- Home Bank of California, 875 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, $607;
- U.S. Bank, 9643 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego, $1,211;
- Pacific Western Bank. 368 Broadway, El Cajon, $1,432;
- Wells Fargo, 6670 Montezuma Road, San Diego, $9,903.
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