Pair plead guilty to string of bank robberies in Bay Area, Sacramento
Two people have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a conspiracy to rob nearly a dozen banks in the Bay Area and Sacramento, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California
, 20-year-old Dontae Jerome Jones Jr. and 21-year-old JoMya Maruiyne Futch each entered guilty pleas to one count of bank robbery Thursday. In addition, Futch pleaded guilty to one count of perjury.
A third defendant in the case, 22-year-old Yasmin Charisse Millett, pleaded guilty to bank robbery last month. The trio
were indicted in September of last year
.
Prosecutors said Jones and Millett had conspired to rob at least 10 banks in Sacramento, Vallejo, Suisun City, Benicia, Concord and Antioch between June 2023 and Sep. 2024. The pair had worked together and recruited women, including Futch, to facilitate the robberies.
The robberies would involve the participants handing threatening notes to tellers demanding money, even threatening to kill people in the bank. After taking the cash, they would leave in a waiting getaway car.
Prosecutors said Jones and Millett groomed recruits to pass the notes, saying Millett advertised the conspiracy on Instagram in videos of herself and others holding large amounts of cash.
In their statement, the U.S. Attorney's Office noted a July 17, 2023 incident where Jones and Millett picked up Futch in a stolen Audi to commit a bank robbery at a credit union in Suisun City, providing instructions to her. Futch handed the note to the teller and returned to the waiting vehicle with cash.
The next day, police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. Police said they found bait money on Millett and Jones and a crumpled up note.
Prosecutors said Futch appeared as a witness under oath before a grand jury and made false statements. During her testimony, Futch said she believed that she was opening up a bank account on July 17, 2023 and claimed she had "no clue" that she was committing a bank robbery.
According to prosecutors, Millett had informed Futch about plans to commit a bank robbery leading up to that date and that Futch agreed to commit the robberies.
Jones and Futch face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the bank robbery conviction, while Futch faces up to five years and a $250,000 fine for her perjury conviction.
The pair are scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 7.
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