May 08, 2009

RECIDIVIST BANK ROBBER PLEADS GUILTY TO ROBBING LAUREL VILLAGE BANK OF AMERICA BRANCH

SAN FRANCISCO – Elisa M. Lipkins pleaded guilty yesterday to robbing $7,020 from the Bank of America branch in San Francisco’s Laurel Village, U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.

Lipkins, 43, admitted to the single count of an indictment that charged her with robbing the Bank of America branch at 3565 California Street on December 23, 2008. Lipkins admitted that she used a note to demand the money from a teller.

At the time of the robbery, Lipkins was staying at a halfway house in Oakland, Calif., serving the end of a 70-month bank robbery sentence she received in 2004.

Lipkins will remain in custody until she is sentenced. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 20 before Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker in United States District Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco.

The maximum statutory penalty for bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) is 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. Lipkins’ sentence will be imposed by the court after the court considers applicable federal sentencing statutes and guidelines.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nat Cousins is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rosario Calderon. The guilty plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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For more information on federal criminal defense law, contact the Law Offices of Joseph Shemaria of Los Angeles, California.