A 22-year-old Marysville woman has been sentenced to state prison after pleading guilty to robbing a bank at gunpoint and leading police on a high-speed chase through Butte County, California. The sentence was announced by the Butte County Superior Court, bringing an end to a criminal case that began with a dramatic bank robbery in Gridley in July 2025.
The defendant, Jennifer Flores, previously pleaded guilty to robbery with the use of a firearm and felony evading law enforcement. According to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office, the incident began on July 17, 2025, when officers with the Gridley Police Department responded to reports of an armed robbery in progress at the BMO Bank in Gridley.
Prosecutors said officers arrived at the bank and observed Flores, who was dressed entirely in black, wearing a face covering and carrying what appeared to be a handgun. She allegedly fled the bank, entered a vehicle that did not have license plates, and sped away before officers attempted to stop her.
Authorities said Flores then led officers on a dangerous pursuit, driving more than 90 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone along Larkin Road. The pursuit ended after she crashed the vehicle into an orchard. Prosecutors said Flores attempted to escape on foot but was quickly captured following a brief foot chase. Officers also recovered a bag containing cash that investigators said had been stolen from the bank during the robbery.
According to investigators, Flores entered the bank armed with a handgun and demanded money from employees. She allegedly ordered four bank employees to open the bank vault while she collected stacks of $100 bills. The robbery was interrupted when police sirens became audible outside the bank, prompting her to flee before taking all of the available cash. Investigators later determined that the handgun used during the robbery was unloaded, although employees were unaware of that fact during the incident.
Earlier this year, Flores sought mental health diversion, arguing that she was suffering from postpartum mood disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the robbery. Her defense claimed those mental health conditions contributed significantly to her actions and requested that she receive treatment rather than a prison sentence.
The Butte County District Attorney’s Office opposed the request, arguing that the seriousness of the crimes and the danger posed to the public made diversion inappropriate. After reviewing the evidence, Commissioner Leah Sears denied the petition, ruling that Flores presented an unreasonable risk to public safety and was therefore ineligible for mental health diversion.
During her sentencing hearing, Flores’ attorney also argued that California law generally favors imposing the lower prison term for defendants who were under the age of 26 when they committed an offense. However, Judge Kimberly Merrifield determined that the circumstances of the case—including the armed robbery and dangerous high-speed pursuit—overcame that legal presumption.
Judge Merrifield ultimately sentenced Flores to four years and eight months in California state prison. The sentence concludes the criminal proceedings stemming from the armed bank robbery, while highlighting the court’s determination that the seriousness of the offenses outweighed the mitigating factors presented by the defense.
