ORIGINALLY POSTED: 2013-10-18 16:17:22 -0700
Updates the next hearing date for the three robbery suspects

A deputy district attorney Friday sought to include the criminal records of men accused in the 2012 armed robbery of a Canyon Country bank, one of whom received probation for a 2010 armed bank robbery in Rosemead.

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The prior records of three suspects accused in the Canyon Country bank robbery known as the “flying cash pursuit,” are relevant under the rules of evidence, said Moira Curry, prosecutor for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

“I’m asking the court to present evidence from that case, and then his plea, under 1101(b) of the evidence code,” Curry said, adding “when I’m asked to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt, something like that has relevance.”

The three defendants are due back in court Dec. 2, when the schedule for jury selection and further trial dates are expected to be discussed.

The trial for Phillip Ely, 30, Lavelle Mosley, 23, and Terion Lamarr Collins, 26, three alleged members of the Rolling 40s Crips gang accused in the September 2012 armed robbery of Canyon Country bank, is expected to continue Oct. 23.

In their most recent case, the three defendants allegedly entered a Bank of America on Soledad Canyon Road around 10 a.m., armed and with their faces covered, jumped over the bank’s teller counter and demanded money from the frightened tellers, according to court documents.

In a previous case against Collins in which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation, Collins entered United Commercial Bank in Rosemead on March 5, 2010, with two other men, jumped over the counter and demanded money from the frightened teller.

In both cases, Collins was found hiding from law enforcement officers shortly after the crimes were committed.

In the 2010 case, Judge Teri Schwartz sentenced Collins to probation in a Pasadena courthouse against an objection from the District Attorney’s Office.

Collins was arrested for the Santa Clarita robbery while he was still on probation for his last offense, according to court documents.

Earlier this year, Mosley was charged with possession of rock cocaine with intent to sell, in furtherance of a criminal street gang. He received probation and was sentenced to drug rehabilitation.

A similar gang allegation is alleged in the bank robbery, as a longtime LAPD officer testified at a preliminary hearing, alleging the three suspects were tied to the Rolling 40s Crips.

The area where the suspects allegedly were found throwing money out of a car, at Vermont Boulevard and Vernon Street in Los Angeles, was three blocks from Mosley’s previous arrest.

The bank robbery drew attention from media outlets throughout Southern California, because the incident culminated in a televised car chase with Sheriff’s Station deputies.

Four men robbed a bank around 10 a.m., led Sheriff’s Department deputies on a chase from Canyon Country to downtown Los Angeles and then threw cash from the car, bringing midday traffic to a grinding halt.

The three are accused of seven felony counts, including second degree robbery, kidnapping to commit another crime, unlawfully taking a vehicle and evading an officer against traffic, according to a criminal complaint.

A fourth suspect escaped the vehicle during the pursuit while it coursed through the 210 Freeway in Sylmar. 

The hourlong chase ended when the suspects were trapped by traffic on a busy residential street by cars and throngs of people who ran to scoop up cash thrown out the fleeing vehicle.

Judge David Gelfound found back in March that there was enough evidence linking the suspects to the Canyon Country robbery to prompt the defendants to stand trial.

Even without that charge though, due to their past records, Collins is facing a maximum of 42 years, and Ely and Mosley are facing at least 20-plus years, Curry said.

All three suspects are being held on more than $1million bail.

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