IRVINE MAN SENTENCED FOR ROBBING WELLS FARGO BANK WITH POTATO PEELER

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

Tony Rackauckas, District Attorney
401 Civic Center Drive West
Santa Ana, CA 92701

IRVINE MAN SENTENCED FOR ROBBING
WELLS FARGO BANK WITH POTATO PEELER

SANTA ANA – An Irvine man was convicted and sentenced today to three years in prison for robbing a bank using a potato peeler. Ramin Pirbazari, 25, Irvine, pleaded guilty to one felony count of robbery and a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon.

On October 27, 2006, Pirbazari walked into a Wells Fargo Bank at 4850 Barranca Parkway in Irvine and handed a female teller a note demanding money. The defendant was holding what appeared to be a knife in his hand and threatened the teller. As he attempted to flee the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, he was shot once in the hand by responding police officers who had received the call about a man with a knife. The weapon used to rob the bank was later determined to be a potato peeler.  A civilian woman in a nearby office was also struck and injured. The defendant was arrested and the money was recovered.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Steiner of the Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.

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