One of Pueblo’s most wanted criminals faces federal charges for string of bank robberies
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - A regular on Pueblo’s most wanted list was recently arrested by the FBI for a string of bank robberies. Now, the Pueblo Police Department hopes to close the long list of open cases against her.
Between May 8 and June 12, Pueblo residents Ashley Cooper, Leo Benavidez, and Britne Schneider are accused of stealing about $10,000 from five banks across Boulder and the Denver metro area.
According to arrest records, the robberies all had a similar MO. Either Cooper or Benavidez would go into a bank and hand a teller a note with demands and threats. One note said, “Don’t be a hero. $5,000 total. No 1’s. The streets have eyes,” according to the federal arrest document.
Nearly all the tellers would hand over money ranging from $300 to more than $4,000 before pressing the silent alarm. The alleged robbers would then leave in stolen cars.
The robberies could have come to a quick end after the second attempt. Arrest records say Benavidez stole more than $4,000 but the teller included a GPS tracker in the money. Law enforcement was able to follow Benavidez and arrest him on May 30. He was charged with robbery and theft but soon posted his $10,000 bond and walked out of jail.
“They've been apprehended before and let out and crime sprees continued on, so our hopes right now is that with them being charged federally, we'll be able to hopefully go through the judicial process as they deserve and then hopefully get some resolution to these cases,” said Captain Dustin Taylor of the Pueblo Police Department.
Four days after Benavidez posted bail, the trio robbed three banks in one day. The third accused accomplice, Schneider, said she drove the getaway car during those three robberies but didn’t know the car was stolen.
The fifth robbery at a U.S. Bank in Boulder, ended in a car and foot pursuit with law enforcement before the three suspects were eventually arrested. Seven agencies were involved in the case, including the FBI, which is filing federal charges against the accused. Cooper and Benavidez could face up to 20 years in prison.
“We actually have FBI partners here within the police department that we work with on a daily basis,” Taylor said. “They've been instrumental really in helping us solve these types of crimes that (Cooper’s) been accused of.”
This isn’t Cooper’s first theft offense. She currently has eight open criminal cases in Pueblo County for identity theft, but the Pueblo Police Department was never able to arrest her, landing her on the department’s most wanted list for months.
Now that she’s in federal custody, the agency hopes to close some of her local cases.
“It allows us to do some more follow-up on the cases that we believe she's involved with,” Taylor said. “But also, it takes her off the streets right now and it's just really important for us that she's in custody at this time.”
