Union City Clothing Store Owner Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison in January 2011 Bank Robbery

A Union City business owner was sentenced Friday morning to three years in state prison for his involvement in a Jan. 2011 bank robbery that left one suspect dead in an apparent suicide following a shootout with police, according to the Fremont Argus.

Anthony Lee Pabros, 37, who owned the now-defunct on Smith Street and resided in Union City, was arrested Jan. 15, 2011 after a short pursuit following an armed at that ended with a second suspect’s death. Pabros has been in custody since the arrest.

Police said Pabros was the getaway driver while , a 36-year-old previously convicted bank robber from Sunnyvale, robbed the Union City bank at gunpoint. He then ran to a black Lincoln Town Car that was being driven by Pabros as a nearby officer approached the scene and gave chase.

Buhay then began shooting at the pursuing officer, according to a police report. The chase ended less than a half a mile away when the getaway car stopped in a residential neighborhood near Arizona Street and Dowe Avenue.

Authorities say Buhay got out, exchanged gunfire with the officer and fled.

Shortly after the chase, Buhay was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head shortly in the backyard of a home on the 2700 block of Dowe Avenue, according to court documents.

Pabros, who was previously charged with four counts of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming that he was . He later changed his plea in September to no contest to one count of second-degree robbery, the Argus reports.

According to the Argus, Pabros will likely serve less than half of the sentence due to him receiving credit for the time he has already served.

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