Daniel Asa Hitesman Gets 16 Years for Bank Heist Threat

Daniel Asa Hitesman didn’t get money — he got 192 months. The former San Francisco halfway house resident was sentenced yesterday to 16 years in federal prison for attempting to rob a bank in Cupertino, a brazen act that ended not with a getaway but a digital paper trail and a swift fall.

The crime unfolded July 23, 2013, when Hitesman walked into a bank on Stevens Creek Boulevard wearing a hat and sunglasses to mask his face, carrying a large bag. He stood in line like any customer, then leaned in and told the teller he had ‘a bag full of guns.’ He demanded cash, warning he’d ‘start shooting’ if his demands weren’t met. The teller refused, hit the alarm, and Hitesman bolted.

Though his face was hidden, the FBI pulled surveillance footage and circulated it publicly. Staff from the San Francisco halfway house where Hitesman was staying recognized him in the images and called agents. That tip, combined with forensic and location evidence, nailed Hitesman to the crime scene and intent.

On July 26, 2016, after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh, a jury convicted Hitesman of one count of attempted bank robbery. The verdict came after prosecutors laid out a timeline linking his departure from the halfway house to the attempted heist — a plan hatched and failed within hours.

Judge Koh imposed the full weight of the law: 192 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. Hitesman, who has no prior federal convictions but a documented history of instability, is already in custody and will serve the sentence immediately.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott Simeon and Jeffrey Backhus, with investigative support from the FBI and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. No money was taken, no shots fired — but the threat was real, and for Hitesman, the consequences are permanent.