Police say robbery suspect writes apology letters

link Matthew Gonzales

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Flush with $2,000 in marked money stolen at gunpoint from U.S. Bank in Clovis, accused bank robber Matthew Gonzales told police he and accomplice Richard Little headed to Portales in the getaway car for a shopping spree at Radio Shack and Walmart.

A remorseful Gonzales said later he also used the stolen loot to purchase illegal drugs and pay off personal debts. Then, after confessing to police, Gonzales wrote two letters of apology and recorded a video apologizing to bank clerks.

“I am so sorry I pointed a gun at you,” Gonzales wrote. “I wasn’t raised that way and my mama gonna beat me for real...”

Detail’s of the robbery Tuesday morning are contained in sworn statements filed in Curry County Magistrate Court by Clovis Police Detective Sgt. Sean Martinez. Little was arrested hours after the heist at his home. Gonzales was arrested Wednesday morning walking near Little’s home.

Martinez said Gonzales confessed and Little hired an attorney.

According to court records:

Gonzales told police the two started Tuesday morning by stealing breakfast, posing as guests at a hotel on Mabry Drive offering a free morning meal with a room. They left for the bank in Little’s green Kia, parking a few blocks from the bank at Prince and Parkland streets.

Gonzales said he chose the bank because it seemed small and he didn’t think there would be many customers. He said he walked to the front of the bank and waited until cars cleared the drive throughs, then burst through the front door with Little’s handgun drawn and held high.

After the clerks gave him the money, Gonzales said, he ran out the back doors toward an alley near Kripple Creek Cafe, tossing a mask, sunglasses and a backpack he was wearing into a dumpster.

Police said they recovered the articles and also obtained surveillance video from a nearby dance studio showing Gonzales dumping the articles.

Gonzales said he made his way to Little’s car. He said they stopped at an Allsup’s at Mabry and Sycamore streets, using some of the stolen loot to purchase gas and cigarettes before heading to Portales to shop.

Gonzales said he used some of the cash to buy an eight-ball, a street term for a large amount of methamphetamine and marijuana. He said he dumped a camouflage jacket worn during the robbery by the Pleasant Hill highway.

Martinez said officers recovered eight $10 bills from Little’s Kia, all marked money taken from the bank, and more cash inside Little’s house with serial numbers matching the cash taken from the bank. Police said they also confiscated a handgun in the home matching the one Gonzales used in the robbery along with a receipt showing a purchase of bullets from Walmart.

Gonzales and Little remain in Curry County jail in lieu of cash bonds.