Vanessa Ramos, Bank Robbery, Pennsylvania 2013

Grimy Times has learned that a 23-year-old woman from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a bank robbery in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.

Vanessa Ramos, age 23, of Wilkes-Barre, appeared in federal court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and admitted to acting as a getaway driver for Romeal Price in the robbery of the Pennstar Bank, 1230 O’Neill Highway, Dunmore, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 2013. The heist netted approximately $11,000.

Ramos admitted to driving Price to and from the scene of the crime, while Price, a fugitive at the time, was on the run after escaping from the Catholic Social Services Residential Reentry Center on June 18, 2013, where he was serving the remaining few months of a 15-year federal prison sentence from 2001.

Following the bank robbery, Price fled to New York City, where he was eventually apprehended by United States Marshals Service deputies on July 17, 2013, without incident. Price later pleaded guilty to the escape and bank robbery charges in Federal Court in Scranton on September 6, 2013.

The case against Ramos was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Dunmore Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gurganus is prosecuting the case.

A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/getaway-driver-robbery-dunmore-bank-pleads-guilty