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SALT LAKE CITY — A man and a woman are facing several bank, credit union and convenience store robbery charges, officials said.
West Jordan resident Tiffani Jo Lalor, 32, faces 10 charges, and North Salt Lake resident Joshua Edward Jensen, 31, faces 11 charges for allegedly robbing University Credit Union, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Chase Bank and 7-Eleven.
Jensen is also being charged with discharging a firearm “during and in relation to a crime of violence,” according to Melodie Rydalch spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney’s Office of Utah.
During the Wells Fargo Bank robbery at a Fresh Market grocery store at 3865 S. 2300 East Jan. 13, Jensen took a handgun out of a police officer's holster and fired it, according to police. The bullet went through the detectives coat and into Jensen's leg.
During the 7-Eleven robbery, the pair allegedly took money from bank employees by “physical force and violence” and allegedly “obstructed, delayed and affected commerce and the movement of articles or commodities in interstate commerce.”
The 7-Eleven robbery is considered as a Hobbs Act robbery, or “a robbery of a business that participates in interstate commerce,” according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew Yeates, who is one of the two assigned prosecutors on the case.
Yeates said Jensen was the robber and Lalor the getaway driver in this case.
Nine of the charges have a potential maximum penalty of 20 years, while one of the charges, which includes an allegation of assault, has a potential maximum penalty of 25 years. The last charge, involving the discharge of a firearm, has a potential penalty of life with a minimum mandatory of 10 years. The sentence for the last charge will be added to the end of any of the other sentences, Rydalch said. He also said local charges will be dismissed.
The FBI, the Unified Police Department and the Salt Lake City Police Department are investigating the case, Rydalch said.
Assistant District Attorney and a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Nelson will join Utah’s Assistant U.S. Attorney in prosecuting the case in federal court, Rydalch said.
