Robber deposits loot in bank he robbed
By TERRY VAU DELL - Staff Writer
OROVILLE - Authorities revealed Monday that an Oroville bank robber was caught after returning to deposit some of the loot into his own account at the same bank later that day.

Jesse Leonard Youngblood, 36, was sentenced under the three-strikes law to a term of 33-years-to-life in prison for the bank heist.

Youngblood had five prior serious or violent felonies on his record, including one prior bank heist which Judge James Reilley used in handing down the life sentence.

According to court records, Youngblood was convicted by a jury of robbing the Oroville branch of Bank of America in August 2002 of more than $1,000.

Although the suspect had partially concealed his face with a hooded sweatshirt, when shown Youngblood's photo, tellers had identified him as the bandit.

According to District Attorney Mike Ramsey, police had initially focused on Youngblood as a suspect because he was on parole at the time for a prior bank robbery and drove a blue compact car similar to the getaway vehicle.

But the clincher came, Ramsey said, when it was learned Youngblood, who was a customer at the same Oroville bank, returned several hours after the heist to deposit about 10 percent of the money into his own account through the bank's outside ATM machine.

Tellers told police that was unusual because Youngblood always came into the bank to make deposits, said Ramsey.