Jacob Ezekiel Martinez pleaded guilty after investigators linked him to the University Avenue robbery through surveillance footage and a distinctive hand tattoo

Organ Mountain News report

LAS CRUCES - A Las Cruces man will spend a little more than three years in federal prison for robbing a Pioneer Bank branch on University Avenue and fleeing with more than $3,500.

Jacob Ezekiel Martinez, 32, was sentenced to 37 months in prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, Martinez entered the bank Aug. 4, 2025, wearing dark clothing and a mask partially covering his face. He approached a teller and handed her a handwritten note threatening violence if his demands were not followed.

The teller gave Martinez $3,513 in cash, and he left the bank with the money.

Las Cruces Police Department investigators identified Martinez from surveillance footage, including a distinctive tattoo on his right hand that matched photographs from a previous booking.

Law enforcement found Martinez the following morning in the back seat of a vehicle parked outside a Las Cruces residence and arrested him. Martinez had shaved his head since the robbery and had told others at the residence the previous night that he had $3,500 in cash, according to prosecutors.

Martinez will serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant B. Gardner prosecuted the case.