Jo Mausbach was a 42-year-old White woman known for her kind and selfless nature. She worked as a bank teller at the U.S. Bank branch at the corner of 13th Street and Pasewalk Avenue in Norfolk, a city in Madison County, Nebraska. Her life was violently cut short on the morning of September 26, 2002, in what became the deadliest bank robbery in Nebraska's history.
The day began like any other Thursday. Around 8:45 a.m., about ten minutes after a lookout gave an all-clear signal, three men dressed in black entered the bank, each armed with a 9mm handgun. The men were later identified as Jose Sandoval, Jorge Galindo, and Erick Vela. Inside the bank, Mausbach was working at the drive-up window. Her colleagues, personal banker Lisa Bryant, 29, assistant branch manager Lola Elwood, 43, and teller coordinator Samuel Sun, 50, were also at their posts. A customer, 37-year-old Evonne Tuttle, was at the counter being helped by Sun.
The robbery unfolded with terrifying speed.
Sandoval, the ringleader, approached the counter and pointed his pistol, which was fitted with a laser sight, at Sun and Tuttle. He gestured for Mausbach to move away from her window and toward him. Seconds later, Sandoval opened fire, fatally shooting both Mausbach and Sun. A customer at the drive-up window witnessed the shooting and immediately drove away to call 911. Simultaneously, Galindo entered Lola Elwood's office and shot her three times. Erick Vela went into Lisa Bryant's office, shooting her first in the leg and then fatally in the neck. Sandoval then turned his gun on Evonne Tuttle, shooting her in the back. The entire event lasted less than fifty seconds, and the robbers fled without taking any money after a silent alarm was triggered.
As the gunmen fled, they encountered another customer, Micki Koepke, entering the lobby. She turned to run, and Galindo fired at her, shattering the glass doors. Koepke was wounded by flying glass or a bullet fragment but managed to get to her car and call 911. The getaway driver, Gabriel Rodriguez, had already fled in the initial vehicle upon hearing gunshots. The three gunmen then broke into a nearby home, stole a Subaru Outback, and fled west. They later abandoned that car and stole a pickup truck.
The response from law enforcement was swift. The trio was captured just three hours after the murders outside a McDonald's in O'Neill, Nebraska, after being spotted by local police. The murder weapons were later recovered along the route they had traveled. Rodriguez, the lookout and initial getaway driver, was arrested later that same night in Norfolk. All four men, who were in their early twenties, were charged with five counts of first-degree murder.
The subsequent trials brought the horrific details of the crime to the forefront. Erick Vela pleaded no contest in June 2003 and was sentenced to death. Jose Sandoval was found guilty by a jury in November 2003 and was also sentenced to death for the murders of Mausbach, Sun, and Tuttle. Jorge Galindo was convicted for the murder of Lola Elwood and received a death sentence. The getaway driver, Gabriel Rodriguez, received multiple life sentences for his role.
The profound loss of Jo Mausbach and the other four victims left a deep scar on the Norfolk community and their families. The case drew national attention for its brutality and the senseless loss of life. As of July 2022, Sandoval, Galindo, and Vela remained on Nebraska's death row, their appeals ongoing. The state has faced challenges in acquiring the drugs required for lethal injections, leaving the timeline for any potential executions uncertain. The memory of Jo Mausbach and the others killed that day is honored by a community that will never forget the tragedy that struck their town.
