Garfield Bank Robber Sentenced to 37 Months

NEWARK, N.J. – A brazen crime spree that spanned multiple states and several attempted heists came to an end today with the sentencing of a 24-year-old Passaic woman.

Melisa Aquino Arias, 24, of Passaic, New Jersey, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for her role in a month-long crime spree that included attempting to rob a Citizens Bank in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, conspiring to rob a Keystone Bank in Scotrun, Pennsylvania, and robbing a Spencer Savings Bank in Garfield, New Jersey, at gunpoint.

Arias pleaded guilty to one count of attempted bank robbery, one count of attempted conspiracy to steal from a bank, and one count of bank robbery before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

The crime spree began on August 28, 2017, when Arias and her co-defendant, Swahilys Pedraza-Rodriguez, 20, of New Haven, Connecticut, disguised in nuns’ habits, entered a Citizens Bank in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. While inside, Arias acted as a lookout as Pedraza-Rodriguez took out what appeared to be a gun and demanded money from a bank teller. The pair fled empty-handed.

On September 20, 2017, Arias and Pedraza-Rodriguez agreed to steal money from the drive-through ATM machine at a Keystone Bank in Scotrun, Pennsylvania. Arias drove them, both wearing hijabs, to the ATM machine and again acted as a lookout while Pedraza-Rodriguez attempted to pry open the ATM machine with a screwdriver. Those attempts were unsuccessful, and the women again fled the scene.

The final attempted heist took place on September 27, 2017, when Pedraza-Rodriguez and Arias entered a Spencer Savings Bank in Garfield, New Jersey, and asked a bank teller for information about opening a bank account. Arias, who was wearing a blue hijab, took out what appeared to be a black handgun and demanded money, while Pedraza-Rodriguez stood guard by the bank manager. After a bank teller handed them some cash, the defendants left the bank and employees immediately alerted the police. Law enforcement officers responded to the scene, but did not immediately locate the robbers.

On October 15, 2017, Pedraza-Rodriguez and Arias were apprehended by law enforcement officers after attempting to rob an NVE Bank in Teaneck, New Jersey. Arias wore an orange hijab and Pedraza-Rodriguez wore a black head covering. They approached a bank employee and requested information about opening a bank account. The employee recognized the women as the alleged perpetrators of the Garfield bank robbery. As the employee went to alert the police, the women left the bank.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Arias to three years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $2,900 in restitution to Spencer Savings Bank. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents with the FBI, the Garfield Police Department, the Teaneck Police Department, the Leonia police department, and the Pocono Township Police Department with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua L. Haber of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.