California man sentenced in El Dorado bank robbery

A Lancaster, Calif., man was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison for his role in the armed robbery of a bank in El Dorado in 2011.

Aaron Blaylock, 33, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty April 8 to one count of aiding and abetting an armed robbery and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of crime of violence, according to news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Connor Eldridge. Blaylock will also be required to pay $53,402.61 in restitution and will serve 10 years of supervised release once he is out of prison.

Blaylock and three accomplices were convicted of playing various roles in the robbery. Blaylock and another man, Eric Johnson, robbed a First Financial Bank branch in El Dorado on Dec. 30, 2011, brandishing a firearm and taking $50,440 from employees as they attempted to refill cartridges containing money in an ATM.

Blaylock and Johnson fled the scene, and with the help of Chelsea Perdue and Jessica Harmon, evaded authorities, with the four driving to Little Rock. Johnson and Blaylock flew to Las Vegas the following day, and Perdue and Harmon met them there three days later. Blaylock and Johnson were arrested and charged in the robbery in Las Vegas on Jan. 31. Harmon and Perdue turned themselves in to authorities in El Dorado.

Johnson was sentenced to 11 years in prison in connection with the case, while Perdue and Harmon were sentenced to a total of seven years in prison for their roles in the crime. Like Blaylock, all were also made to pay back over $53,000 in restitution.

Upcoming Events