Two men, Deangelo Dawson and Handy Velarde, have been arrested by Pima County Sheriff’s deputies in connection to bank robberies in Tucson and are under investigation for bank robberies in Sahuarita.
According to the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, on October 24, 2020, at approximately 1:00 p.m., deputies responded to a report of a bank robbery at the Chase Bank at 2920 West Valencia Rd. Dawson and Velarde had reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle.
At approximately 2:00 p.m., deputies responded to a report of another bank robbery at the US Bank at 7110 North Oracle Rd. At this bank, an undisclosed amount of money was taken and Dawson and Velarde had again fled the scene in a vehicle.
Deputies began a search for Dawson and Velarde and located a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle in the area of Omar Dr. and La Cholla Blvd. Deputies conducted a traffic stop in the area and arrested Dawson and Velarde.
Dawson and Velarde have each been charged with two counts of Armed Robbery.
Deputies also discovered that bank robberies had occurred in the town of Sahuarita earlier in the day. Dawson and Velarde are also being investigated by the Sahuarita Police Department for possible involvement with those incidents.