Maribel Castillo

The Republic | azcentral.com

A former bank teller was sentenced Wednesday to 49-1/2 years in federal prison for "masterminding" three bank robberies in the Valley, officials said.

Joel L. Thomas, 24, of El Mirage, was linked to three separate bank robberies in Peoria, Surprise and Sun City that happened in January and February 2012 , according to a statement from the Office of the U.S. Attorney in Arizona.

The statement said Thomas was found guilty of "three counts of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, two counts of aid and abet armed bank robbery, one count of aid and abet bank robbery, and two counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence."

Thomas had been a teller at the banks that were victimized, and prosecutors said he shared inside information on security measures and bank layouts with his co-conspirators.

Authorities said Thomas arranged two robberies where the victims were held at gunpoint — one of which occurred at a Peoria Chase Bank, where he acted as a victim to the event and helped load $246,000 into a duffel bag. Another involved a "note job", where prosecutors say Thomas coerced two homeless men to demand money at a Surprise grocery store bank.

While investigating the latter robbery, officials from the FBI, its bank-robbery task force and several local law-enforcement agencies found evidence linking Thomas and five others to the crimes, prosecutors said.