HOLBROOK – Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations arrested two men believed to be the “High-Country Bandits” involved in a string of robberies.
Agents arrested two men from Linden at 9 a.m. on Thursday in connection with a four-state spree of armed bank robberies that started with a bank in Heber on September 8.
Joel Jay Glore and Ronald Michael Capito, both born in 1958, were taken into custody after a week of surveillance by FBI agents who were assisted by the Navajo County Major Crimes Apprehension Team (MCAT) and the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Task Force (GITTEM).
Glore was arrested in Show Low at the Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center where he was receiving medical treatment for a ruptured appendix.
At the same time, FBI agents served a search warrant at both Glore’s and Capito’s homes where Capito was taken into custody.
The duo is allegedly responsible for 16 bank robberies in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The men would reportedly enter a bank near closing time, display a handgun and demand cash from the tellers. After receiving cash they would order everyone to “kiss the ground” before leaving the bank and fleeing on ATVs. The ATVs would then be loaded onto a van which would become the getaway car.
