Rochester Woman Pleads Guilty To Illinois Bank Robbery

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
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FAX:            (716) 551-3051

ROCHESTER, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Patricia Nelson, 33, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty to bank robbery before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Sherman, who is handling the case, stated that on March 16, 2015, the defendant robbed the BMO Harris Bank located at 2401 W. Schaumburg Road in Schaumburg, Illinois. Nelson was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois for this crime, but pleaded guilty in the Western District of New York after being arrested here in October of 2016 on an arrest warrant from Illinois. 

On the date of the robbery, at approximately 9:15 a.m., the defendant entered the BMO Harris Bank wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, a purple stocking cap, black glasses, and black pants. Nelson went to the customer counter and wrote a demand note on a deposit slip that read, “Put all cash I 2 envelopes No Alarms No DYE Packs Keep quiet & go quickly.”  The defendant then approached a teller, placed the note on the counter, and gestured with her hands to hurry. The teller then provided a specific amount of cash to the defendant who took the money and left the bank. Nelson got into the passenger side of her vehicle, which her boyfriend was driving.

The two drove from Illinois to Colorado where they were apprehended and Nelson was ultimately charged with a previous bank robbery at the Canandaigua National Bank on March 10, 2015 in Rochester. Nelson pleaded guilty to Robbery in Monroe County Court and was sentenced to one year in prison. Following her release from prison on that charge, the defendant was arrested for the Illinois bank robbery. 

As part of the plea agreement, the defendant agreed to pay $2,320 in restitution to the BMO Harris Bank

The plea is the result of an investigation by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Adam S. Cohen.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 1, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., before Judge Siragusa.