Stockton bank robbery: Surviving suspect charged

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Monday, July 21, 2014
Jaime Ramos, the only surviving suspect of a deadly bank robbery in Stockton, California, on Wednesday, July, 16, 2014, is seen in this undated file photo.
Jaime Ramos, the only surviving suspect of a deadly bank robbery in Stockton, California, on Wednesday, July, 16, 2014, is seen in this undated file photo.
KABC-KABC

STOCKTON, Calif. (KABC) -- The only surviving suspect in a deadly bank robbery and shootout with police in Stockton has been charged.

Jaime Ramos, 19, was charged Monday with three counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder on police officers in last Wednesday's heist in which two suspects and a hostage were killed.

Ramos and two other suspects, 27-year-old Alex Gregory Martinez and 30-year-old Gilbert Renteria Jr., are accused of taking two bank employees and a customer hostage at a Bank of the West branch in broad daylight. Armed with handguns and an AK-47, they fled the scene with the hostages and led authorities on a wild pursuit, firing bullets while driving.

The two bank employees who were held hostage were injured but survived after being thrown from the moving vehicle or jumping out. Police say the bank customer, 41-year-old Misty Holt-Singh, died after being used as a human shield.

Using surveillance video, witness statements and comparing the circumstances, investigators have linked one of the suspects who died to a robbery at the same bank branch in January. In both cases, the robbers were dropped off and made their get-away by stealing a bank employee's car.

Detectives say they are still searching for the driver who took the robbers to the bank on Wednesday. Police have recovered a dark-colored Buick sedan seen on video dropping off the suspects. The car had no license plates and was found abandoned in a neighborhood.

Ramos could face a death sentence with the additional allegations that the three people were killed during kidnappings and robbery, according to Joaquin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ron Freitas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.