New Iberia Woman Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Bank Robbery

United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick sentenced Jazmine Johnnie, age 23, of New Iberia, Louisiana, to 37 months in federal prison following her conviction for bank robbery. The Court further sentenced Johnnie to serve three years of supervised release following her term of imprisonment and ordered her to pay $3,500 in restitution.

According to admissions made as part of her guilty plea, on October 9, 2023, Johnnie drove in a rented Dodge Challenger to the branch location of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., at 7346 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She wore sweatpants, a sweatshirt, a bonnet, eyeglasses, and a blue surgical-style mask over her mouth. She spoke with a teller before saying she would leave the bank and return the next day. Johnnie left the bank in the rented Challenger and drove away.

On October 10, 2023, Johnnie, wearing the same outfit she had worn the previous day, drove the Challenger back to the same bank. After walking into the bank's lobby, she stopped at a desk, picked up a blank withdrawal slip, and wrote the following note on the back of the slip, "This bomb in my bag will go off in 5 minutes! My BF is speaking to the teller with a AK & is ready to shoot if cops are (sic) security is notified[.] You have 15 seconds to give me 45,000 are (sic) everyone dies. Timer is on. You try anything or notify anyone & the bomb will go off. Clock is ticking." At the bottom of the note "$45,000" was written with a circle around it.

After writing the note, Johnnie walked to the teller station in the rear of the bank carrying a purse, a cell phone, and the demand note that she had just written. Once she reached the teller station, Johnnie slid the note to the teller. She then set her purse on the teller counter and showed the screen of her cell phone to the teller. The screen showed a timer counting down.

The teller ultimately gave Johnnie $3,500 in cash. After putting the cash into her purse, Johnnie exited the bank, got back into the Challenger, and drove away. After a warrant was issued for her arrest, Johnnie surrendered to police. During a post-arrest interview, she admitted to committing the robbery.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Baton Rouge Police Department, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ben Wallace.