FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A woman pleaded guilty to a driving violation last week for her role in a February drive-through robbery at True North CU after she told police she did not know the friend she drove to the credit union was robbing it.
She was sentenced to serve 10 days in jail, time she has already served. Felony robbery and theft charges were dismissed under the terms of a plea agreement that the judge called “extraordinary.”
Paulette Akerelrea, 22, was driving a silver minivan that stopped by the drive-through lane Feb. 13. The teller reported sending the van $2,198 through the bank’s pneumatic tube when a bomb threat note arrived from the tube. Police found the van with the cash a few blocks away.
Akerelrea says she did not know her co-defendant, Jenesa Kempski, was going to rob the credit union when Kempski asked for a ride there. Under the plea agreement, Akerelrea pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended driver’s license. She could have to testify against Kempski.
