IRVING, Texas — A bank robber who attempted to kidnap a Comerica employee was sentenced Thursday to more than 13 years in federal prison, officials say.
Staci West League, 52, admitted to robbing a Comerica Bank in Irving, Texas, on April 29, 2022, while brandishing a 9mm handgun, according to court documents. She was charged via criminal complaint in May 2022 and indicted later that month.
According to court documents, League entered the bank just after 4 p.m., approached a teller, and asked to speak to a manager. When the manager approached her window, League said she was committing a robbery and demanded cash, documents show.
The manager and the teller went to the vault to get the money and placed the cash into a blue courier bag, officials say. When the manager was handing the bag over, League pulled a handgun out of her hoodie and attempted to verify an amount. The manager returned to the vault, put more money into the bag, and gave it to her, court documents show.
League then pointed her handgun at another bank employee and ordered him to walk out the front door and into her pickup truck, according to court documents. While League was getting inside the driver’s side door, the employee was able to escape to a nearby fast food restaurant.
League immediately left the scene and drove to the Irving Fire Department, where she told firefighters that she “did something very bad” as they waited for Irving police to arrive.
Law enforcement recovered the cash and the gun used in the robbery shortly after they arrested her.
League pleaded guilty to bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 165 months in federal prison.
Officials say League was convicted of robbing the same Comerica Bank in 2019.
According to court documents, League entered the bank just before 5 p.m. on June 14, 2019 with something concealed under a blanket, and announced, “I want large bills.”
A teller spotted a rifle peeking out from under the blanket and went to the vault to retrieve cash. She placed the cash in a plastic bag and handed it to League, who said, “Thank you” and walked out the front door, officials say.
She then drove to the police department to turn herself in. She pleaded guilty to bank robbery and was sentenced to 40 months in prison for that crime, court documents show.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Irving Police Department conducted both investigations. U.S. Attorneys Robert Withers, Jordan Ganz (fmr), and Shane Read (fmr) prosecuted the cases.
