Jose O. Jimenez, Attempted Armed Bank Robbery, Colorado 2011

Palisade Man Sentenced to 17 Years for Attempted Armed Bank Robbery

A Palisade man has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for attempting to rob a bank in 2011. Jose O. Jimenez, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson to serve 210 months in prison for his role in the attempted armed bank robbery of the Palisades National Bank in Palisade, Colorado.

According to court documents, Jimenez and co-defendant Bryan Morrow, 32, of Palisade, planned and executed the attempted robbery on August 20, 2011. Morrow drove Jimenez to the bank, where he was wearing a black hoodie, camouflage mask, and work boots. Jimenez entered the bank, brandished a gun, and ordered the manager and tellers to open the vault and fill a backpack with money.

However, the tellers had secretly activated the silent alarm, and a police officer arrived at the scene, causing Jimenez to flee. Morrow had been watching from a distance and told Jimenez to leave via the two-way radio.

Jimenez pleaded guilty to the charges on March 20, 2014, and was sentenced on July 25, 2014. Morrow had also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

Co-defendant Nicole Kozic, 25, of San Bernardino, California, who had knowledge of the attempted robbery, pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor and was sentenced to 5 years' probation.

The attempted armed bank robbery was a brazen crime that put the lives of bank employees and customers at risk. Jimenez's sentence reflects the seriousness of the offense and the need to hold individuals accountable for their actions.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/palisade-man-sentenced-federal-prison-attempted-armed-bank-robbery