Crime

Joseph Nieto and Christina Drummond in lockup for "Bonnie and Clyde" bank robberies

It took nearly three years, but Joseph Nieto has finally been sentenced in Colorado for robberies he's admitted to committing with help from Christina Drummond, who played Bonnie to his Clyde -- at least according to the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, which bequeathed their nicknames. Details and photos below.

The task force, a branch of Denver's FBI office, has an amusing sideline in naming bank robbers -- like this month's "Brady Bunch Bandit" (so christened because of the crook's physical similarity to a Bunch boy, we're told) and the "Clearinghouse Bandit" (he's been seen carrying magazines -- and Publishers Clearing House sells mag subscriptions). See photos and releases about both of them below.

As for Nieto and Drummond, the task force dubbed them Bonnie and Clyde for obvious reasons: They were a couple who teamed up to knock over joints. We first wrote about them in January 2010 in relation to robberies committed in Greeley the previous month -- a Premier Cash Advance on December 15, during which they wore hooded sweetshirts and ball caps and kept their faces hidden as they threatened employees with handguns, and a Guaranty Bank and Trust branch on December 24, during which they also wielded gats.

Here's a photo of the twosome in action....

...and here's one focusing on Drummond. Mere days later, Drummond and Nieto were nabbed in the act, albeit quite a way from their previous haunt. As we reported, they were caught Burlingame, California, after sticking up a bank in Los Banos.

In the interim, Drummond was convicted in Cali in connection with bank robberies there and remains in federal custody. Upon the completion of her federal sentence, the Weld County District Attorney's Office notes that she'll be extradited to Greeley, where she faces twelve felony counts for Colorado crimes.

Nieto, meanwhile, pleaded guilty this week to a pair of aggravated-robbery-with-a-real-or-simulated-weapon counts, netting him an eleven-year sentence for each; they'll be served consecutively. He'd already been convicted of the California offenses, which resulted in a seventy-month sentence that will run concurrent to his Colorado jolt.

Michael Gabriel Nieto, presumably one of Joseph's kin, also received a sentence for taking part in a Greeley robbery, by driving the getaway car. His reward: five years in stir.

Look below to see mug shots of Nieto and Drummond, followed by info on the Brady Bunch and Clearinghouse bandits.

Continue to learn more about the Brady Bunch and Clearinghouse bandits.
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Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.
Contact: Michael Roberts

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