MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- 22-year-old Jessica Benson, the college student who has been missing since May, has been formally charged in connection with a robbery that occurred at her workplace, Educators Credit Union.
The crime occurred on Tuesday, May 7th, while Benson was working at the bank’s drive-up window. 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.
Following the robbery, Benson called in sick. A week passed and no one heard from her.
Two others, 25-year-old Kevin Blackburn and 31-year-old Ricardo Lorenzo Perkins, have also been charged in connection with the robbery. The two each face on count of robbery of a financial institution.
According to the criminal complaint, Benson and her boyfriend recruited Blackburn and 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.
On the day of the robbery, Perkins and Blackburn picked up stolen vehicles, and followed Benson's boyfriend to the bank, according to the complaint. Once there, Perkins passed a note to bank tellers demanding 100s, 50s, 20s be put through the drive-through draw window, or a bomb would go off. Shortly thereafter, the tube was sent back with money -- and Perkins fled the scene.
The robbery was captured on surveillance video. In the video, a man is seen passing a note that included words used by credit union employees. Law enforcement officials believe there were similarities in the writing between a piece of evidence and what was found in Benson’s dorm room.
After fleeing the scene, Perkins told authorities he observed police following him and bailed from his vehicle. Perkins claims he didn't hear from Benson or her boyfriend until three days later -- when they stopped by his place asking him to do another robbery.
Benson’s sister, Judith Beyer, is not sure what to believe. According to her, Benson had “nothing to worry about.” She worked at the Credit Union for six years, had no criminal record and was about to graduate from college.
“It’s very, very emotional (and) it’s very hard,” Beyer said.
However, a police search yielded different results. Prompted by Benson’s strange absence, the police did a welfare check and found a vacant apartment where she had stayed with her boyfriend.
According to court records, witnesses saw Benson and her boyfriend moving furniture into a U-Haul truck after dark, either a few days before the bank robbery, or a few days after – reports vary.
Additionally, a detective spoke with Benson’s friend, who said he saw her driving a rental car on Friday, May 10th, three days after the robbery. He also said Benson, who was wearing dark sunglasses at the time, had cut her hair short and dyed it light brown with blonde highlights.
The complaint says approximately $6,000 was taken during the robbery.
Educators Credit Union released a statement on this case to FOX6 News:
"Educators Credit Union will continue to cooperate with police in the investigation of May 7th robbery of our location on Appleton Avenue in Milwaukee. We look forward to the resolution of this case, for the well-being of our members and our employees."