South Lake Tahoe bank robber faces long prison term after pleading guilty to 19 robberies

An Oakland, California man pleaded guilty to being a serial bank robber who committed 19 heists across the Bay Area and Northern California, including South Lake Tahoe, between March 2018 and February 2019.

Duane Kurt Makela, 50, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco Thursday to ten armed bank robberies, seven unarmed bank robberies, and two attempted bank robberies.

Makela was in South Lake For for two bank robberies. The first was at the Wells Fargo Bank at the Y on Emerald Bay Road in South Lake Tahoe on Saturday, March 24, 2018. Sierra Central Credit Union on Ski Run Blvd. and US50 was then robbed two months later on May 24, 2018.

These local heists were two of the seven unarmed robberies Makela plead guilty to.

He robbed another El Dorado County bank in the town of Pollock Pines on June 12, 2018. This crime was an armed robbery at the U.S. Bank.

Makela was arrested in April at Kaiser Permanente hospital in Oakland while his wife was giving birth, according to CBS News in San Francisco. It was the same day the FBI, Oakland police and Alameda County Sheriff's deputies served a search warrant at his Oakland Hills home.

As part of his plea, Makela agreed that he entered the banks and credit unions and demanded that employees hand over money. Makela further acknowledged that during each armed robbery, he brandished what appeared to be a handgun and directed employees of the banks and credit unions to hand over money.

In total, Makela stole $69,002. He robbed banks in Pleasant Hill, Oakland, San Ramon, Palo Alto, Orinda, Roseville, Mill Valley, Burlingame, Mountain View, South San Franciso, Alameda and Castro Valley.

Makela’s sentencing is scheduled for January 15, 2020. The maximum statutory penalties for each armed bank robbery are 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory penalties for each unarmed bank robbery and attempted bank robbery are 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, the court may order a term of supervised release, restitution, and special assessments. However, any sentence following conviction will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence.

The prosecution is the result of investigations by the FBI with assistance from the police departments of Pleasant Hill, Orinda, Daly City, South Lake Tahoe, Oakland, San Ramon, Palo Alto, Roseville, Burlingame, Mountain View, South San Francisco, and Alameda, as well as the Contra Costa County, El Dorado County, Marin County, and Alameda County Sheriff’s Offices.