Santa Fe Woman Sentenced for Conviction on Attempted Armed Robbery Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Sonya Padilla, 42, of Santa Fe, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a year and a day in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her conviction for attempting to rob a business engaged in interstate commerce.

Padilla and co-defendant Michael Crespin, 44, also of Santa Fe, were arrested in May 2014, on a criminal complaint charging them with robbing the First National Bank of Santa Fe located at 4995 Governor Miles Road in Santa Fe on May 5, 2014. According to the complaint, Crespin robbed the bank by brandishing a gun at bank tellers and demanding money. He left the bank with the money and was driven away by Padilla.

Crespin and Padilla were indicted on May 21, 2014, and charged with armed bank robbery. A superseding indictment was filed on May 28, 2015, and charged Crespin and Padilla with violating the Hobbs Act on April 28, 2014, in Santa Fe County by attempting to rob the Plaza de Centro America market, and with the armed robbery of the First National Bank of Santa Fe on May 5, 2014, in Santa Fe County.

Padilla pled guilty on March 7, 2016, to attempted interference with interstate commerce by robbery and violence and admitted that on April 28, 2014, she and Crespin attempted to rob the Plaza de Centro America market in Santa Fe.

On Sept. 4, 2015, Crespin pled guilty to armed bank robbery, and admitted that on May 5, 2014, he robbed the First National Bank of Santa Fe while armed with an airsoft pistol, which he waved around and pointed towards bank tellers while he demanded money. Crespin was sentenced on April 26, 2016, to 13 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Santa Fe office of the FBI and the Santa Fe Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Norman Cairns prosecuted the case.