Jessica Benson sentenced to three years in prison for role in credit union robbery

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A Milwaukee County judge sentenced 24-year-old Jessica Benson on Tuesday, February 10th to three years in prison and another three years of extended supervision.

Benson pleaded guilty in January to one count of robbery of a financial institution. The crime happened in May 2013 at an Educators Credit Union branch on Appleton Ave. in Milwaukee. Benson worked at the credit union at the time.

According to a surveillance video, the robbery took place when the suspect gave a bank teller a note. The note was inscribed with terminology used internally by bank employees, according to court documents. According to the criminal complaint, Benson and her boyfriend recruited Kevin Blackburn and Ricardo Perkins to take part in the robbery two weeks prior to the incident. The complaint indicates Benson provided them with inside information on the bank’s procedures during a robbery.

Blackburn and Perkins were convicted and sentenced in connection with the robbery. Blackburn was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and six years of extended supervision. Perkins was sentenced to four years in prison, and four years of extended supervision.

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