Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Aiding Armed Bank Robbery

Armed and ready, one man walked into a U.S. Bank on Albuquerque’s northeast side and threatened to shoot employees unless they handed over cash. Behind the scenes, Christopher Gallegos, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., helped set the stage. Today, he pleaded guilty in federal court to aiding and abetting the armed robbery of the U.S. Bank branch located at 5620 Wyoming Blvd. NE on March 30, 2016.

Gallegos was arrested in March 2016 alongside four co-defendants: Greg Miera, 51, Martin Huerta, 43, Christian Herrera, 20, and Isaiah Gallegos, 20 — all of Albuquerque. According to the criminal complaint, a source identified the group as responsible for the heist. Surveillance by Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers captured a vehicle with four men pulling up to the bank. Three stayed in the car; the fourth entered, brandished a threat of gunfire, and forced two tellers to fill a plastic bag with cash.

The indictment, returned April 27, 2016, charged all five men with armed bank robbery. Now, Christopher Gallegos has formally admitted his role. In court, he acknowledged conducting surveillance on multiple potential bank targets in the two days leading up to the robbery, scouting locations and helping plan the hit.

He is not the first to fold. Co-defendant Martin Huerta entered a guilty plea on September 9, 2016. Greg Miera followed on October 11, 2016, also pleading guilty. All three — Gallegos, Miera, and Huerta — now face a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. They remain in custody as they await sentencing.

The two remaining defendants, Christian Herrera and Isaiah Gallegos, have pleaded not guilty. Trial proceedings for them are pending. As with all defendants, they are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The charges against them remain allegations under federal law.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Albuquerque office and the Albuquerque Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia Simms is prosecuting the case, pushing for accountability in a crime that threatened lives and violated the public trust. The U.S. Bank robbery may be over, but the fallout is far from settled.

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