Woman Indicted for Serial Bank Robbery

A Dallas woman has been indicted for committing a string of bank robberies, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Patricia Maldonado, 34, was indicted last week on three counts of bank robbery. At a detention hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Harris Toliver ordered her detained pending her trial, which is set for April 11.

The indictment alleges Ms. Maldonado robbed at least three Dallas banks in the fall of 2019: Comerica Bank on Fort Worth Avenue, Chase Bank on Mockingbird Lane, and Chase Bank on Coit Road.

She was eventually identified by a concerned citizen who recognized her face in surveillance images included in a news release, according to a criminal complaint filed in January.

Per the complaint, Ms. Maldonado, who always wore a baseball cap of some sort, generally entered the banks, handed the tellers a note demanding money and stating she had a gun, and fled on foot with the cash. On at least one occasion, she was caught on camera hopping into a silver Jeep Patriot parked at a nearby gas station.

Following the concerned citizen’s identification of Ms. Maldonado, law enforcement conducted an analysis of her social media presence, noting the resemblance between her and the suspect. On her Facebook page, they found a photo of her wearing a sweatshirt identical to one worn by the suspect in the Comerica robbery. On her sister’s Facebook page, they found multiple photos of her posing beside her sister’s silver Jeep Patriot.

On Jan. 29, officers arrested Ms. Maldonado at her place of employment. After being advised of her Miranda rights, Ms. Maldonado positively identified herself in surveillance photos from all the robberies.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Ms. Maldonado is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin is prosecuting the case.