DENVER — A 22-year-old Denver woman was sentenced to 19 years in prison for six bank robberies around the Denver metro area.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, stipulated facts in a plea agreement showed that Jenifer Adriana Lopez-Ramirez, 22, of Denver, was involved in six bank robberies in Denver, Aurora, Englewood and Centennial in about a one-month period in 2019.
The spree started on May 3, 2019. That day, Lopez-Ramirez walked into the First Citizens Bank at 9848 Zenith Meridian Drive in Englewood and handed the teller a note demanding money. The teller gave her money, according to the Department of Justice.
An hour and a half later, Lopez-Ramirez robbed the UMB Bank located at 8190 S. University Boulevard in Centennial. She brandished a firearm while speaking with the teller and demanded cash, which the teller provided, according to the Department of Justice.
A few days later, on May 9, 2019, Lopez-Ramirez walked into the First Bank at 8901 E. Hampden Ave. in Denver and handed a teller a note demanding money. The teller provided cash, according to the Department of Justice.
Two days later — on May 11, 2019 — Lopez-Ramirez approached a teller at the Bellco Credit Union located at 3890 N. Quebec Street in Denver. She handed the teller a note and brandished a firearm. At some point during the exchange, she became impatient and went behind the counter to take cash out of a drawer, according to the Department of Justice. She ended up taking a GPS tracker as well.
As she fled from the Bello Credit Union, reaching speeds around 100 mph, law enforcement followed her using the GPS tracker. She ended up crashing into another vehicle, seriously injuring that driver, according to the Department of Justice.
She was then arrested.
During the subsequent investigation, authorities recovered the firearm used in the robbery from a juvenile who had been in the car with her. The juvenile had given the gun to Lopez-Ramirez to use in the robbery, according to the Department of Justice.
Lopez-Ramirez was released from the Denver County Jail on May 20, 2019 on the condition that she’d wear a GPS ankle monitor.
Sometime on May 25, 2019, she removed the ankle monitor, according to the Department of Justice.
On June 4, 2019, Lopez-Ramirez walked into the Bank of the West located at 1389 S. Havana St. in Aurora and demanded money from a teller, which she received, along with a GPS tracker. According to the Department of Justice, she later discarded the tracker.
Six days later, on June 10, 2019, Lopez-Ramirez robbed the TCF Bank located at 18520 Green Valley Boulevard in Denver. While talking with a teller, she racked the slide of her gun and demanded, and received, cash from the teller before fleeing from the scene, according to the Department of Justice.
She was arrested again 10 days later on shoplifting charges.
U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said this ended her career as an armed bank robber.
Lopez-Ramirez pleaded guilty on Feb. 4. She was sentenced Tuesday to 228 months behind bars.
Following her time in prison, Lopez-Ramirez will serve three years on supervised release, according to the Department of Justice. In addition, she was ordered to pay restitution to the government because the banks were federally insured.