Woman who robbed bank in witch costume gets 13 years

Woman who robbed bank in witch costume gets 13 years

OLYMPIA, Wash. - A woman who wore a witch costume to rob a bank on Halloween, then vanished in a puff of smoke from an exploding dye pack, has been sentenced to 13 years in state prison.

Vanessa D. Molina, 23, had pleaded guilty to four holdups in the Olympia area, including the Halloween heist last fall at a Washington Mutual branch in Lacey.

She abandoned a witch hat and about $2,000 cash when the dye pack exploded after the Halloween holdup, but she got away with about $11,500 from the other holdups last October, including one a half-hour later in Olympia in which she wore another disguise, according to court documents.

She also pleaded guilty to theft, identity theft, criminal impersonation and drug possession.

Her sentencing Monday came one day before the start of the trial of Donald E. Jefferson, 37, identified by investigators as her accomplice and boyfriend. They were arrested in November.