Published: Friday, September 3, 2010
Woman charged in bank robbery
Prosecutors say the bank in Mountlake Terrace is the same one she robbed four years ago.
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE -- Terri Sphung told bank tellers the box wrapped in Christmas paper was a bomb.
She threatened to blow up the bank if she didn't get money.
Sphung made off with about $10,000 during the 2006 heist. She also was sentenced to three years in prison for the hold-up.
Now, four years later, prosecutors say Sphung has robbed the same bank. She didn't have a box, but she threatened to blow up the bank if the tellers didn't fork over money.
Detectives say Sphung also was wearing nearly the same get-up she had on in 2006: a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, big sunglasses and dark gloves.
Sphung, 46, was charged Wednesday with first-degree robbery for the May 28 heist. She also is a suspect in Lynnwood bank robbery that same day.
Sphung's past came back to haunt her after detectives noted that the May robbery was similar to one in 2006. They showed witnesses a picture of Sphung. The witnesses identified Sphung as the person who threatened to blow up the bank, court papers said.
They noted that she was wearing a dark-colored sweatsuit and carrying a purse. They also noted that she had acne on her chin.
A couple of days after the robbery, Sphung turned herself into police, admitting that she had a warrant for her arrest for drunken driving.
She had shaved off her hair but she was carrying a purse that looked identical to the one the robber was carrying, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen wrote. She also had acne on her face, court papers said.
Detectives talked to a woman who told police that Sphung said she was going to borrow money from her parents, who live near the bank. She had the woman take here to the area and park two blocks away.
A witness later reported seeing the robber run to a green vehicle. Two women were standing outside the car.
The driver told police that Sphung told her that she'd gotten some money from her parents. She drove her to Seattle, where they rented a motel room, court papers said.
Sphung had rented a motel room after the 2006 heist. A witness told police Sphung went on a shopping spree with the $10,000, buying electronics, video games, drugs and alcohol.
Sphung also was convicted in 2005 of threatening to blow up her parents' house with dynamite. A bomb squad was called out and discovered a box containing a cell phone, a watch face and markers wrapped in paper. There were no explosives.
Sphung's mother wrote a letter to a judge in 2006 explaining that Sphung was disabled after being hit by a car in 2003. She wrote that her daughter has untreated mental health problems, along with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Sphung is being held on $100,000. She was on community custody at the time of the May robbery.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
She threatened to blow up the bank if she didn't get money.
Sphung made off with about $10,000 during the 2006 heist. She also was sentenced to three years in prison for the hold-up.
Now, four years later, prosecutors say Sphung has robbed the same bank. She didn't have a box, but she threatened to blow up the bank if the tellers didn't fork over money.
Detectives say Sphung also was wearing nearly the same get-up she had on in 2006: a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, big sunglasses and dark gloves.
Sphung, 46, was charged Wednesday with first-degree robbery for the May 28 heist. She also is a suspect in Lynnwood bank robbery that same day.
Sphung's past came back to haunt her after detectives noted that the May robbery was similar to one in 2006. They showed witnesses a picture of Sphung. The witnesses identified Sphung as the person who threatened to blow up the bank, court papers said.
They noted that she was wearing a dark-colored sweatsuit and carrying a purse. They also noted that she had acne on her chin.
A couple of days after the robbery, Sphung turned herself into police, admitting that she had a warrant for her arrest for drunken driving.
She had shaved off her hair but she was carrying a purse that looked identical to the one the robber was carrying, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Cindy Larsen wrote. She also had acne on her face, court papers said.
Detectives talked to a woman who told police that Sphung said she was going to borrow money from her parents, who live near the bank. She had the woman take here to the area and park two blocks away.
A witness later reported seeing the robber run to a green vehicle. Two women were standing outside the car.
The driver told police that Sphung told her that she'd gotten some money from her parents. She drove her to Seattle, where they rented a motel room, court papers said.
Sphung had rented a motel room after the 2006 heist. A witness told police Sphung went on a shopping spree with the $10,000, buying electronics, video games, drugs and alcohol.
Sphung also was convicted in 2005 of threatening to blow up her parents' house with dynamite. A bomb squad was called out and discovered a box containing a cell phone, a watch face and markers wrapped in paper. There were no explosives.
Sphung's mother wrote a letter to a judge in 2006 explaining that Sphung was disabled after being hit by a car in 2003. She wrote that her daughter has untreated mental health problems, along with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.
Sphung is being held on $100,000. She was on community custody at the time of the May robbery.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(
