North County
The 36-year-old woman dubbed the “Speed Queen Bandit” because she was said she was in a hurry while robbing banks pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to hold up three banks in three cities in one afternoon.
Rita Louise Bennett of San Diego entered her plea before U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff one day before she was to go on trial for five bank robberies.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Sheri Walker said Bennett could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
Huff scheduled sentencing for Jan. 27. Bennett remains in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Other charges facing Bennett will probably be dismissed after sentencing.
Her alleged accomplice, Raymond Allweil, 26, also of San Diego, is to go on trial alone today on suspicion of helping Bennett rob Wells Fargo bank branches in Poway and Del Mar on June 5.
The Poway bank at 14815 Pomerado Road lost $701, and the Del Mar bank was robbed of $413, according to court records. Also robbed that afternoon was a HomeFed Bank on Genessee Avenue in San Diego, where $307 was taken.
The “Speed Queen” Bandit usually gave a demand note to a teller that stated they had “only two seconds to give me your money.” The note also said that, if the teller took three seconds to hand over some bills, the bandit would “blow your head off.”
Bennett was arrested in late June.
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