Admitted to Informing Co-Defendant Boyfriend of a $314,000 Cash Withdrawal
SAN JOSE – LAWFUEL – The Law Newswire – United States Attorney Scott N. Schools announced that Christina Marie Flores was sentenced in San Jose by Judge Ronald M. Whyte to serve 24 months incarceration for her role in a 2004 robbery in Salinas. The defendant was also ordered to serve a two-year term of supervised release following her release from prison and to pay $314,000.00 in restitution to the victim.
Ms. Flores, 31, of Salinas, pleaded guilty on February 26, 2007, to conspiring with others to rob a Salinas merchant in April 2004. At the time, Flores was employed as the Customer Service Manager for Community Bank in Salinas, California. According to her plea agreement with the government, Ms. Flores acknowledged that on April 2, 2004, the owner/operator of The Corner Market, a convenience store and check cashing business in Salinas, cashed a check at Community Bank for over $314,000. Ms. Flores admitted that she informed her then-boyfriend, Jorge Lopez, about the withdrawal, and that Lopez then informed Ramon Romero, Jose Campos, and others. Shortly thereafter, as the proprietor arrived at her business, she was assaulted and robbed by Mr. Romero.
Mr. Romero was subsequently charged and convicted for the robbery in state court. Mr. Campos pleaded guilty to federal charges and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 23, 2007. Mr. Lopez, who had been a fugitive, was arrested on June 1, 2007, and is currently detained pending trial.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, and the FBI. Community Bank also assisted in the investigation.
Thomas O’Connell is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case.
