AMARILLO, Texas—A former employee of Amarillo Education CU here now faces a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years after aiding four other people in robbing the credit union, and then just months later, robbing the CU again.
Desire Valverde, 23, entered a guilty plea here to the crimes. She also faces a fine of up to $250,000.
Four other defendants in the case - Leonard Coulter, 29, Richard Cunningham, 39, Keli Edwards, 35, and Raul Garcia, 28 - also pleaded guilty to various charges, all of which stem from the two robberies in May and September of 2016, according to NewsChannel10.com.
Prosecutors said that Valverde, who worked as an AECU teller, helped Coulter and Garcia to plan the May robbery and gave the duo money from her drawer. She also provided the two men with information on “how and when” to commit the robbery, and remained in contact with Garcia during the crime, prosecutors said. Later she received a portion of the stolen money.
In the September, 2016, robbery, prosecutors said Coulter and Cunningham robbed a different branch of Amarillo Education CU by holding a teller at gunpoint, NewsChannel10.com reported. When the teller told the robbers the drawers were locked, Coulter jumped the counter and pressed the gun to her back. Coulter got money out of the drawer and then demanded access to the vault.
According to police, the robbers left the credit union with approximately $60,067.
During the investigation, the FBI identified Garcia as another party involved in both robberies - once as Valverde's informant and the other time as the getaway driver, NewsChannel10.com said.
Valverde pleaded guilty to one count of credit union robbery. Sentencing is set for July 11.