Woman gets almost 3 years in prison for role in bank robbery at West Hartford grocery store
A 28-year-old woman was sentenced to almost three years in prison on Tuesday for her role in a bank robbery in West Hartford last year.
Jalania Pantano, formerly of Middletown, faced sentencing in federal court in New Haven where a judge handed down a 30-month prison term that will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
On July 20, 2022, Pantano and her boyfriend, Gino Rizzo, entered the People’s United Bank inside a Stop & Shop, located at 176 Newington Road in West Hartford, and gave two different tellers notes stating, “Give us the money with no dye packs or GPS,” according to federal officials. The tellers gave up about $1,599 before the pair of robbers left the bank and the grocery store.
No injuries were reported.
Federal officials noted that in the days leading up to the West Hartford robbery, Rizzo had robbed People’s United Bank branches in Stop & Shop supermarkets in Glastonbury on July 16, 2022, and in Newington on July 18, 2022, using notes demanding cash.
Rizzo was arrested a day after the West Hartford robbery, according to officials. Pantano was arrested on Aug. 30, 2022.
On April 11, Pantano and Rizzo were on pretrial release when they each disconnected their GPS electronic monitoring bracelets and absconded from their court-mandated rehabilitation centers, according to officials.
Rizzo was arrested again on May 22, and Pantano was apprehended two days later. They have each been detained since then.
Pantano’s sentencing Tuesday comes after she struck a plea deal on Aug. 23, pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery, according to officials.
Rizzo, who has also pleaded guilty, is awaiting sentencing.