OCALA, Fla. – An Ocala woman has admitted to robbing a Marion County bank last spring after a hidden tracking device led police directly to her vehicle. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced that Christina Gates Thagard, 40, pleaded guilty to bank robbery and now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Court filings detail a heavily disguised Thagard entering the bank on May 3, 2025. Wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, surgical mask, and a single latex glove, she approached the counter with a verbal declaration: “This is a robbery!”
Thagard handed the teller a handwritten note threatening violence if her demands weren’t met. The note claimed she was armed and would shoot if any alarms were triggered or dye packs used. It demanded “at least 50 k big bills” and warned the teller to wait two minutes before calling the police.
READ: Palatka Man Indicted On Federal Bank Robbery Charges, Faces 20 Years
Complying with the demands, the teller placed $5,075 into Thagard’s purse—along with a GPS tracking device.
The getaway was short-lived. Ocala Police Department officers utilized the tracker’s data to quickly locate Thagard and her vehicle. Inside, authorities recovered the stolen cash, the tracking unit, and the specific clothing worn during the heist. Subsequent forensic analysis matched Thagard’s fingerprints to both the demand note and a door inside the bank.
The investigation was a joint effort between the Ocala Police Department and the FBI. Thagard is scheduled for sentencing on January 20, 2026.
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