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Desi 'Bombshell Bandit' sentenced for 66 months

April 08, 2015 10:48 IST

Sandeep Kaur had pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robberies earlier this year. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports from California.

An Indian American woman dubbed the 'Bombshell Bandit' by the Federal Bureau of Investigation was sentenced for 66 months by US District Judge Ted Stewart in Utah on Tuesday.

Sandeep Kaur, 24, a resident of Union City, California, pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robberies before Magistrate Judge Robert T Braithwaite in January early this year.

Rydalch Melodie, the public information officer at the US department of justice in Utah told Rediff.com, “She was sentenced to 66 months in prison and three years of supervised release when she concludes her prison sentence.”

On July 31, 2014, Kaur was arrested following a long chase involving law enforcement officers of three states for robbing the US Bank in St George, Utah.

According to the police complaint filed against Kaur at the ClarkCounty district attorney's Office in July 2014, in Nevada, Kaur was charged with criminal and traffic offences in Nevada, including resisting an officer with a deadly weapon, attempt to disobey a police officer, endangering persons and property, and aggressive driving.

It was only after her arrest that the FBI discovered she was the suspect in three other bank robberies.

On July 14, Kaur robbed the Commerce Bank in San Diego; on July 8, she robbed the Wells Fargo bank in Arizona; and on June 6, the Bank of the West again in California.

Kaur’s attorney Jay T Winward described the latter as ‘very pleasant, educated, honest and bright’ and had said, “It's been my honor to help her through the process."

He said, "She is willing to move on with her life and has lots of courage in my opinion."

Ritu Jha in California