On Friday, May 19th, 2023, at 2:39 pm, the Turlock Police Department came out with an update regarding the bank robbery that had occurred the afternoon of Saturday, February 25th, 2023, at PNC Bank, 1955 Geer Rd, Turlock.
Two days after the robbery, on Monday, February 27th, an informational bulletin was distributed including photos of the robbery suspect.
A day after the bulletin was distributed, on Tuesday, February 28th, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported suspicious person at the Turlock Poker Room, 2321 W Main St, who matched the description of the robbery suspect and was using small denominations of cash for large gaming buy-ins.
Officers arrived on scene, made contact with the man, identified him as Moses Lira, 40, of Merced, and interviewed him. Lira denied being involved in the robbery.
About a week later, on Thursday, March 9th, detectives were able to obtain surveillance camera video from a business next to PNC Bank, which showed the suspect vehicle in the robbery. That vehicle was later able to be linked to Lira.
Detectives and the department’s crime analyst continued to investigate the case, eventually linking Lira to several other bank robberies throughout the Central Valley.
Armed with information from the Turlock Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office arrested Lira on Tuesday, March 14th.
Lira was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on unknown charges for his involvement in a different bank robbery.
Detectives were able to obtain a warrant of arrest for Lira’s involvement in the Turlock bank robbery and he will be extradited back to face those charges after the disposition of his Sacramento County case.
“At times it can feel like crime is happening and nothing is being done,” said Turlock Police Chief Jason Hedden. “Our residents can business owners can rest assured, our team is working hard behind the scenes to bring those who commit crime in Turlock to justice, and this is a good example to their tenacity and commitment to solving crime in our community,” he continued.
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist in it is encouraged to call Detective Kevin Blanc at 209-668-6540.
