The man who robbed a Wells Fargo bank in Clarendon nearly two years ago has entered a guilty plea, leaving him to face a maximum of three years behind bars.
Oscar Gonzalez Alvarenga will only be prosecuted over his abduction of the bank’s manager, who he forced to open a vault while pretending to possess a gun prior to a lengthy standoff with police, according to court documents.
Gonzalez Alvarenga’s sentence for the charge, which would originally range between one and 10 years based on statute, is capped at three years as part of the plea agreement, which Arlington Circuit Court Judge Daniel S. Fiore II accepted on Tuesday.
A robbery charge will also be dropped as part of the agreement, which would have carried a maximum prison sentence of five years if convicted.
In court, defense attorney Mark Thrash said that Gonzalez Alvarenga, a noncitizen from El Salvador, told police that he robbed the bank to appease “assassins” who had been searching for him.
A mental health specialist determined that, though Gonzalez Alvarenga suffered from extreme paranoia and was “clearly psychotic,” he understood the difference between right and wrong and was able to stand trial, Thrash said.
Gonzalez Alvarenga (previously identified as Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja) entered the Wells Fargo at 3140 Washington Blvd on the afternoon of April 11, 2023 and demanded that the manager open the bank’s vault, according to a statement of facts.
A total of five people were inside the bank at the time of the incident, and remained held inside for the duration of the hour-long robbery and resulting standoff with law enforcement, police said.
Gonzalez Alvarenga only emerged from the bank after a SWAT team arrived on the scene. He was taken into custody shortly after 4 p.m. and was led out from the bank in handcuffs.
Gonzalez Alvarenga, who had undergone mental health treatment in North Carolina before the bank robbery, has been receiving treatment since his arrest. He has been in custody at the Arlington County Detention Center for much of the last year and a half.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 19.
In court, the judge, prosecution and defense expressed uncertainty over whether Gonzalez Alvarenga, who has been in the United States for about eight years, would be subject to deportation. The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office requires a judicially issued warrant to transfer custody to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
