MOTHER FENDS OFF 2 ARMED BANK ROBBERS

Momma said "No."

A no-nonsense mother fended off two bungling bank robbers, who were armed with a rifle and shotgun, when they tried to carjack her - and her kids - in Pueblo.
Friday's odyssey began when the robbers, with loot in hand, commandeered a bank customer's auto. They couldn't figure out how to drive it, bailed out and headed toward an eatery. "After failing at the food establishment, the suspects tried to steal a third vehicle that was occupied by a mother and her children," police said. "The mother refused to leave the vehicle and abandon her kids, prompting the suspects to get into the back seat with them still inside. "The mother still refused to exit her vehicle, so the suspects got out of her vehicle and fled on foot in different directions," police said. Officers captured suspects Mario Lucero, 49, and Esai Maestas-Torres, 24, and recovered the weapons.

Lucero has prior prison sentences of three years for robbery, eight years for another robbery and four years for domestic violence. Maestas-Torres, meantime, was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to assaulting a police officer. The US Bank branch is located at 1130 Bonforte Boulevard.