Rio Arriba County Woman Pleads Guilty to Attempted Bank Robbery Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Ashley Herrera, 28, of Espanola, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to attempted bank robbery.

Herrera was arrested in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging her with attempting to rob the Bank of America branch located at 4037 Rodeo Road in Santa Fe, N.M., on Aug. 12, 2015. Herrera subsequently was indicted on Aug. 23, 2016, and charged with attempted bank robbery.

During today’s proceedings, Herrera pled guilty to the indictment. and admitted that on Aug. 12, 2015, she attempted to rob the bank by handing a bank teller a note in which she threatened to shoot if the bank teller did not give her money. Herrera acknowledged leaving the bank without obtaining any money. She was later arrested after one of her fingerprints was found on the demand note she handed the bank teller.

At sentencing, Herrera faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Santa Fe Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shana B. Long and Peter J. Eicker are prosecuting the case.