A pair of El Dorado women have been sentenced to a total of seven years in prison for their roles in a 2011 bank robbery, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Conner Eldridge said.
Chelsea Perdue, 20, and Jessica Harmon, 22, had each pleaded guilty March 4 to one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Perdue was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes to 4 years, 3 months in prison and Harmon to 2 years, 9 months; each was also ordered to pay $53,402.61 in restitution, Eldridge said.
Perude and Harmon were waiting Dec. 30, 2011, with a getaway car for Aaron Blaylock and Eric Johnson after the men committed armed robbery at the First Financial Bank in El Dorado, according to court documents. After leaving the bank, the men drove to a meeting place, where Perdue and Harmon were waiting with a different vehicle. They drove to Perdue's home and switched vehicles, and the women each took a $4,000 cut from the $50,400 robbery haul, Eldridge said. Later that evening, they all drove to Little Rock, from where the men flew to Las Vegas on Dec. 31 and the women joined them three days later, authorities say.
Perdue and Harmon surrendered to authorities in El Dorado, and Blaylock and Johnson were arrested at the end of January in Las Vegas.