FBI reveals bank robbers' reasoning

Albuquerque bank robbers have a wide range of excuses for carrying out their criminal acts—from financial desperation, to greed, to trying to pay for college tuition—according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“It really runs the full spectrum,” special agent Darrin Jones said. “We’ve had people trying to pay gambling debts. We’ve had business owners robbing banks.”

It’s not uncommon to see surveillance images from bank robberies or hear the nicknames FBI agents assign to certain suspects, but rarely does the FBI discuss the details.

The reasons behind many local bank robberies vary from the sad to the ridiculous, News 13 has learned, and the amount of money bank robbers actually get away with isn’t really very much.

Among the men behind the masks – a football fan, a college student and a polio survivor.

The Football Fan

Russell Kimn Urban, 51, robbed three Albuquerque banks in 2005. The first two were to pay the bills, but the last was because Urban’s favorite football team had made the NFL playoffs.

Urban robbed the Wells Fargo bank at 1800 Montgomery on December 21, 2005 to get money to see the Denver Broncos play in San Diego, the FBI said.

His three bank robberies netted him a little more $8,500, but he was arrested shortly after the third robbery.

“It’s just an incredibly poor choice,” agent Jones said. “Quite frankly, you can not be a terribly intelligent individual and engage in this type of behavior.”

The College Student

University of New Mexico student Chris Hirani, 22, decided to rob a bank to help support his college lifestyle.

The Eldorado High School graduate entered UNM as a freshman in 2005, to major in computer science and minor in astrophysics.

According to the FBI, his disappointed parents cut him off financially after his grades dropped due to excess partying.

“The student had not had a particularly good year,” Jones said.

Hirani’s solution was to show up at the Compass Bank at 1201 San Pedro NE with a gun, September 5, 2006.

Surveillance pictures show Hirani wearing a mask, carrying a gun with a bullet in the chamber and a full magazine.

The student, who at one point had a 3.5 grade-point-average, was arrested hours later with more than $7,300 in cash.

“He wanted to stay in school and so that was one of the ways he thought perhaps he could underwrite that expense," Jones said.

The Polio Survivor

Khoa Luong, 32, got national attention when he robbed an Albuquerque bank with a gun in one hand, and a crutch in the other January 15, 2008.

The polio survivor showed up at the Bank of Albuquerque at 8221 Wyoming NE, hobbling from window to window demanding money, and firing the weapon.

Bank customers and employees hit the floor, as Luong made off with $1,500 in cash.

The bank’s dramatic surveillance video circulated nationally.

Residents in Kansas City, Missouri recognized him as a man who liked to play poker in a Kansas City casino.

“Turns out yes, he absolutely needed those crutches,” agent Jones said.

Months after the bank robbery, Luong pleaded guilty.

His attorney explained part of the reason he robbed the bank was because he was tired of being teased about his disability.

Doing Time

Albuquerque bank robbers run a high risk of getting caught, according to the FBI.

The bureau’s Albuquerque field office has one of the highest solution and arrest rates in the nation.

“They just don’t realize how incredibly difficult it is to even begin to execute a robbery and not get apprehended,” Jones said.

Bank robbers usually get away with less than $3,000 Jones said. Most get caught, convicted and sent to serve time in federal prison.

Luong is now serving an 18-year sentence in Big Spring, Texas.

Hirani and Urban are serving seven-year sentences at federal prisons in Arizona.