Albuquerque Woman Sentenced to Prison for Attempted Armed Bank Robbery Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Late yesterday afternoon, Emma Rosemary Hossy, 23, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for her attempted armed bank robbery conviction. Hossy is a naturalized U.S. citizen from South Africa who was residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she was arrested in this case.

Hossy was arrested on December 9, 2012, on a criminal complaint charging her with attempted armed bank robbery. She subsequently was indicted on that same charge.

According to court records, Hossy attempted to rob the Wells Fargo Bank branch located at 8333 Montgomery Boulevard NE in Albuquerque on December 7, 2012. On that day, a woman, subsequently identified as Hossy, approached a teller station and told the teller that she needed four thousand dollars. Hossy then displayed an object and said she would press “the detonator and blow up the building” if the teller did not promptly comply with her demand. Hossy left the bank without any cash after she apparently noticed that the teller had pressed an emergency button located under the counter of the teller station.

Hossy was arrested two days later after an anonymous tipster provided information about her whereabouts after seeing bank surveillance camera photographs of Hossy in news reports. Following Hossy’s arrest, the bomb squads of the FBI and Albuquerque Police Department located the object displayed by Hossy during the attempted bank robbery and determined that it was a hoax bomb device.

Hossy pleaded guilty to the indictment on June 20, 2013, without the benefit of a plea agreement.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Field Office of the FBI and the Albuquerque Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Pflugrath.