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PLEASANT GROVE — Bailing a girlfriend out of jail motivated a man to rob a credit union, police said.

Robert Phillip Rivas, 26, and Armando Jesse Ambriz, 28, robbed the Utah Community Credit Union at 105 E. State on May 4, according to the Pleasant Grove Police Department.

“We later received information from one of Robert Rivas’ family members indicating that they were aware of a plot he had to rob a bank to obtain money to bail his girlfriend out of jail,” said Lt. Britt Smith. “(With) search warrants we were able to find some receipts for bail bondsmen that indicated he had in fact bailed his girlfriend out of jail hours after the robbery here in Pleasant Grove.”

The case was also unusual because police were able to arrest Ambriz before they even received a physical description of the robbers, according to Smith.

“The bank they robbed was just a couple of blocks away from the police department and he was walking toward the police department wearing an obvious disguise, so officers responding from the police department to the bank passed by him first,” he said. “Obviously he stood out like a sore thumb wearing a wig, fake beard and fake eyebrows.”

Both Ambriz and Rivas were booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of felony robbery and obstruction of justice. Rivas' girlfriend was released on bail, according to Smith.

“I don’t know what her plans are now that (Rivas) is looking at some prison time,” Smith said.

Contributing: Karilyn Frazier

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