Rockford Woman Indicted for Robbery of Associated Bank in Rockford

ROCKFORD—A Rockford, Ill. woman was indicted today by a federal grand jury for bank robbery. Latoya Shaunta Burrows, 31, of Rockford, was charged with the March 20, 2012 bank robbery of the Associated Bank, 612 North Main Street in Rockford, Illinois.

According to the criminal complaint previously filed, at about 10:57 a.m. on March 20, 2012, Burrows entered Associated Bank. According to the complaint, Burrows was wearing pink pants. The complaint further alleges that Burrows approached the teller counter and handed the teller a folded piece of paper that read, “Put money in the bag and no one will get hurt.” The teller removed cash from the teller drawer but told Burrows that he did not have a bag to put the money into. According to the complaint, Burrows grabbed the money from the teller’s hand, stuffed the cash into her bra, and walked out of the bank. Shortly after the robbery, Burrows was arrested by the Rockford Police Department about a block away from the bank. Burrows is presently in federal custody pending trial.

If convicted, Burrows faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment, and full restitution. The actual sentence would be determined by the United States District Court, guided by the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The indictment was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chet Epperson, Chief of the Rockford Police Department.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott A. Verseman.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.