Second teen pleads guilty in Vail bank heist

DENVER (AP) – An Australian teenager who worked at a Vail ski shop pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to robbing bank at gunpoint of $132,000.Luke Gabriel Carroll, 19, faces up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his Sept. 23 sentencing on a single count of armed bank robbery.His friend and co-worker, Anthony Harold Prince, 19, pleaded guilty to the same charge last week. Prince, a New Zealander with permanent Australian residency, will be sentenced on Sept. 8.Carroll and Prince were charged with robbing WestStar Bank in Vail on March 21.One bank teller was injured when she was pushed to the floor, authorities said.The Australian press dubbed Carroll and Prince “Dumb and Dumber” because they left so many clues to their identity that they were arrested the day after the robbery.Witnesses said the masked robbers, armed with BB pistols, had distinct accents and wore badges similar to ones worn by staff at the shop where Prince and Carroll worked.Vail ski resort employees told police that Carroll and Prince used their ski passes to board a chair lift about one-quarter mile from the bank within minutes of the robbery.Investigators soon found mug shots of Carroll and Prince, who were arrested in Vail in January for allegedly shooting out windows with a paintball gun, and distributed their photos on an FBI flyer.The day after the robbery, the pair drove 120 miles to Denver International Airport and tried to buy one-way tickets to Mexico, authorities said. A police officer recognized the teenagers from the flyer – and from their distinctive accents – and arrested them.Investigators later found about $26,000 in a backpack in a trash can in an airport parking garage, and Carroll was carrying about $7,600 when he was arrested, according to an FBI affidavit.A man who lives near the bank found $1,000 in $1 bills near his home shortly after the robbery.Vail, Colorado