YEPES CONVICTED ON 21 CHARGES.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Five years after the robbery of a Canyon Country bank, accused mastermind Alex Yepes was convicted on 21 felony charges Thursday as a jury continued deliberating nine other charges.

This was the third trial for Yepes, 30, a Santa Clarita resident who was acquitted of bank robbery charges in federal court and whose previous state prosecution ended in a mistrial with the jury deadlocked 11-1 against him.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office opted to retry Yepes and Thursday's partial verdict signaled the 11-week trial was nearing a close.

Authorities allege that Yepes, along with childhood friends Brett and Chad Pelch, carried out the robberies of Trans World Bank in Canyon Country and Coast Federal Bank in Northridge in June and September 1993, respectively. The three had been classmates at Saugus High School.

``He was the ringleader,'' said Deputy District Attorney Susan Chasworth.

The Pelch brothers were convicted in 1997 by a Van Nuys Superior Court jury. In that same trial, the jurors found Yepes guilty of four charges, but deadlocked on 30 others. In 1994 in federal court, Yepes was found not guilty of bank robbery, a federal offense.

On Thursday in North Valley Superior Court, a clerk read the seven-man, five-woman panel's convictions on 11 counts of false imprisonment, eight counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of residential burglary and one count of kidnapping for the purpose of committing robbery. The latter term carries the possibility of a life term in prison, with the possibility of parole.

Yepes' attorney, Joseph Gutierrez, could not be reached for comment on the verdicts.

All 21 of the convictions relate to the Canyon Country incident, Chasworth noted.

Prosecutors had filed special allegations of using a firearm in the commission of each charge, which could add prison time to whatever sentence Yepes eventually receives. In 15 of the 21 instances, the jury found those special allegations to be true, Chasworth said.

After the proceedings, the prosecutor speculated the outcome was different this time because Yepes took the stand and the jury didn't find him credible.

``The main difference was that he testified this time and didn't take the stand last time,'' Chasworth said. ``When he was on the witness stand, he was very arrogant and I think he thought he could talk his way out of this. I think he thought he could manipulate the jury.''

Meanwhile, North Valley Superior Court Judge Charles Peven directed the jury to continue deliberating on the remaining charges against Yepes: one count of attempted robbery, one count of kidnapping for the purpose of committing robbery, one count of residential burglary, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of false imprisonment.

Chasworth said the nine remaining charges relate to the Northridge crimes.