Crime & Safety

Parolee Arrested In Palm Desert Bank Heist

The burglary was reported on March 17.

(Updated at 1:15 p.m. on March 31)

A parolee was arrested early today on suspicion of burglarizing a Palm Desert bank.

Ryan Aaron Shelton, 30, of Thermal was taken into custody at 3:45 a.m. Thursday at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, where a casino security guard detained him, according to Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

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Shelton had been identified as a suspect in the March 15 burglary at First Bank at 39575 Washing Ave., Valenzuela said.

Flyers with the parolee’s photograph were given to local law enforcement and casinos, which led to his capture, she said.

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Another suspect, 33-year-old Chad James Green, was arrested March 17 on suspicion of the burglary.

The men allegedly gain entry into the bank after closing and took an undisclosed amount of cash. The burglary was discovered the next morning by employees.

Both were being held without bail at the Indio Jail.


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