Man will stand trial on robbery and evading with reckless driving charges

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A man accused of robbing a Clairemont bank, then leading police on a chase that ended in the Midway District, was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges of robbery and evading with reckless driving.

Oscar Esteban Valle, 27, will be back in court Jan. 9 for arraignment.

Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber said police were on alert on Sept. 20 because banks in San Diego had been robbed the previous two Saturdays.

About 1:30 p.m. Sept. 20, Valle robbed the Wells Fargo bank on Balboa Avenue near Genesee, the prosecutor said.

Bank teller Raul Bernal testified during a preliminary hearing that he was robbed by a man wearing a black rag over his face.

“He said, `Give me money. You know what this is,”‘ Bernal testified.

According to court testimony, Valle fled after taking money from two other tellers.

Thanks to a tracking device put in a bag with the stolen money, police followed Valle’s car for 10 minutes into the Midway District.

Koerber said a police helicopter caught Valle throwing clothing and money out of his vehicle, which he eventually crashed into a parked patrol car.

Police said Valle abandoned his vehicle and ran barefoot between cars on the Interstate 8 offramp near Sports Arena Boulevard before being arrested.

Superior Court Judge Frederic Link ruled that enough evidence was presented during the preliminary hearing for Valle to stand trial.

Charges of being an accessory after the fact were dismissed against Valle’s sister, Claudia Valle, and the defendant’s girlfriend, Karina Rios.