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Norfolk bank murders

Also known as: Norfolk bank robbery, 2002 Norfolk bank murders

Active
2002–2002
Region
Norfolk, Nebraska, USA
State
NE
Kind
Mass
Status
Convicted
Victims
5

Shortly before 9 a.m. on September 26, 2002, armed robbers entered a U.S. Bank branch in Norfolk, Nebraska, and shot and killed four employees and a customer. Jose Sandoval, Jorge Galindo and Erick Vela were captured about three hours later in O'Neill, and Gabriel Rodriguez, the lookout and getaway driver, was arrested that night. Sandoval and Galindo were convicted at trial and Vela pleaded no contest; all three were sentenced to death, and Rodriguez received five life terms. The three remain on Nebraska's death row.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Timeline of locations

  1. September 26, 2002
    U.S. Bank branch, Norfolk (Crime scene, approximate area)

    The branch, in a strip-mall parking lot at 13th Street and Pasewalk Avenue, where five people were killed and a customer was wounded.

  2. September 26, 2002
    Arrest in O'Neill (Arrest, approximate area)

    Sandoval, Galindo and Vela fled in stolen vehicles and were arrested about three hours later in O'Neill, about 76 miles northwest of Norfolk, after stopping for gas and food.

  3. November 25, 2003
    Madison County Courthouse, Madison (Court / trial)

    A Madison County jury convicted Sandoval in November 2003 and recommended death. Galindo was convicted in December 2003, Rodriguez in February 2004, and Vela, who pleaded no contest, was sentenced to death in 2007.

  4. 2004
    Tecumseh State Correctional Institution (Prison)

    Sandoval, Galindo and Vela are held on Nebraska's death row at Tecumseh.

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.