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Police catch Craig, Rifle bank robbery suspect

Craig Press Staff
A Detective with Garfield County Sheriffs Department enters the Bank of Colorado at 1200 Railroad Avenue in Rifle about an hour after a robbery occurred Tuesday.
COurtesy Photo

The suspect in the Craig and Rifle Bank of Colorado robberies was arrested in a Denver hotel Friday morning.

In a news release Friday, the Craig Police Department said they’d caught their man — 35-year-old Rudy Anthony Cardenas — and arrested him on charges related to the robberies in Craig Sept. 17 and Sept. 24 in Rifle.

According to a Sept. 17 news release from CPD, shortly after 10 a.m., a male entered Bank of Colorado and handed an employee a note demanding cash, after which he fled with an undisclosed amount of money.



There were no injuries to bank employees, and the suspect did not display any weapons during the incident.

Bank employees declined to comment a few hours after the robbery, saying they were allowing the Craig Police Department’s investigation to be completed.



Police officers were on the scene within a minute of the robbery but were not able to immediately find the man.

The suspect was described as American Indian, about five feet, nine inches tall and about 180 pounds wearing a black t-shirt, tan pants, black baseball cap and glasses.

CPD Capt. Bill Leonard said the department didn’t release screen shots of the suspect taken from surveillance footage as they already had strong leads in the case.

“The case is currently being actively investigated and we are following up on several leads at this time,” Leonard said Sept. 17.

A few days later, on Sept. 24, police say Cardenas struck again, this time at Rifle’s Bank of Colorado.

According to a report in the Glenwood Post Independent, the Rifle Police Department were called at 12:26 p.m. Tuesday to a robbery at the Bank of Colorado at 1200 Railroad Ave. in Rifle. A department spokesperson said the bank was robbed by what appeared to be a Hispanic male in his late 30s wearing dark colored clothing and a dark colored ball cap.

According to the Rifle Police Department the suspect was last seen walking casually south down the alley toward a dispensary at the corner of East 12th Street and Railroad Avenue.

Rifle Police Department said there was no weapon observed during the robbery.

The department does not disclose the monetary amount taken, which is classified while the case in under investigation.

It was the first bank robbery in the city of Rifle since June 17 , 2011 when American National Bank located at 5th Street and Railroad Avenue was robbed. The Rifle branch of American National Bank was robbed earlier that year on May 27, 2011. There were arrests made in both 2011 robberies.

Rifle Police spokesperson Robin Steffen said the suspect was caught due to a team effort.

“It was a coordinated effort between Rifle Police Department, Craig Police Department, the FBI, the Denver Police Department, and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office,” Steffen said.

The Craig Press attempted to obtain charging documents and an arrest affidavit detailing the evidence police are using to charge Cardenas with a crime, but the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s office requested the documents be sealed and the Craig Press was denied access Friday.

Glenwood Post Independent reporter Kyle Mills contributed to this report.


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