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Press Release

San Francisco Resident Sentenced To More Than 10 Years In Prison For String Of Armed Bank Robberies

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California
Defendant also sentenced for being a felon in possession of a firearm and distribution of methamphetamine

SAN FRANCISCO – Yolanda Brown, AKA Yo-Yo, was sentenced today to 130 months in prison, and ordered to pay $19,285.00 in restitution, for five robberies of Bay Area banks and credit unions, the unlawful possession of a firearm, and distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder.

Brown, 48, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty to the charges on November 21, 2016.  According to the plea agreement, Brown admitted to robbing the following banks and credit unions:

Date

Bank / Credit Union

Location

January 11, 2016

Wells Fargo

2055 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA

January 13, 2016

Patelco Credit Union

1358 Fairmont Drive, San Leandro, CA

February 19, 2016

Patelco Credit Union

1358 Fairmont Drive, San Leandro, CA

June 9, 2016

Citibank

2400 19th Avenue, San Francisco, CA

June 16, 2016

Wells Fargo

3365 Deer Valley Road, Antioch, CA

In her plea agreement, Brown also admitted to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possessing with intent to distribute and distributing more than fifty grams of methamphetamine.

On October 20, 2016, a federal grand jury indicted Brown for the robberies and unlawful possession of a firearm.  The indictment charged her with five counts of bank or credit union robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).  Further, on September 15, 2015, Brown was indicted for distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).   Under the plea agreement, Brown pleaded guilty to all charges in both indictments.

The sentence of 130 months’ imprisonment was handed down by the Honorable Thelton E. Henderson, U.S. District Judge, in San Francisco.  Judge Henderson also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release.  The defendant was immediately remanded into custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott D. Joiner prosecuted the case with the assistance of Lance Libatique and Linda Love.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the San Francisco Police Department, the San Leandro Police Department, and the Antioch Police Department.

Updated March 8, 2017

Topic
Violent Crime