A sentence of 150 years to life in state prison was handed down Friday to the “Chameleon Bandit” who robbed a Chula Vista credit union as well as four other banks in which he altered his appearance.
Darius Demon Lake, 28, was ordered to pay $19,091 to all the banks he robbed including $2,560 to the Navy Federal Credit Union he held up in Oct., 2017.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert O’Neill noted that Lake was released from a 5-year federal prison sentence for three bank robberies in Aug., 2017 and began robbing banks again several months later.
Lake was “a poster child” for having the three strike laws, said O’Neill. He received consecutive 25 year sentences for robbing people in five banks.
“His record speaks for itself,” said O’Neill, noting that Lake recorded a video of himself “grinning at the camera” with stolen money after the Chula Vista robbery.
Lake was called the “Chameleon Bandit” by law enforcement because of his changing appearance and clothing in different holdups. The video of himself after the Chula Vista heist came from his own cellphone and was admitted as evidence.
One of the tellers came to court and wrote a letter saying she has had ongoing nightmares and Lake took away her sense of security.
“It was clear several witnesses were traumatized,” said the judge.
“He has problems, but Mr. Lake has done nothing to deal with those problems,” said O’Neill.
Deputy District Attorney Lucille Yturralde said 13 victims testified at his trial which included a bank customer who was robbed and multiple tellers in the same bank.
Lake’s attorney, Jeremy Thornton, asked the judge to impose a sentence of 28 years and four months. “He will never be a young man out of prison again,” said Thornton.
“I am asking this court for compassion. Mercy is a component of justice,” said Thornton.
Thornton said Lake became a father when he was 17 years old and he dropped out of high school to help care for his son.
“He found acceptance from people who use drugs…and criminal activity,” said Thornton.
Lake, who was dressed in blue jail clothes, is from El Cajon. He said nothing in court and did not testify in his Feb. trial.
Yturralde said Lake went on a spending spree from money in the robberies and he bought jewelry, champagne and $180 lap dances.
A jury deliberated 9 ¼ hours over two days before convicting him of 11 robberies and one attempted robbery in which multiple tellers were held up. The jury acquitted him of two robberies in which the tellers could not identify him as the bandit.
O’Neill gave him credit for 263 days in jail and fined him $10,963. A restitution hearing was set for July 6 in which O’Neill will consider ordering Lake to pay for loss of wages and counseling costs to the victims.
