‘She needed rent’: Port St. Lucie police detail 11-month investigation leading to arrest of PNC Bank robbery suspect
Good morning. Thank you for joining me. I’m Chief Nimzic. I’m joined by Lieutenant Harrington. Deputy Chief Anigo, Captain Cuba, and Sergeant Giacon, they all played an important role in this investigation, so I invited them to join me. Um, today I wanna begin by recognizing the dedicated work our detectives, officers, and partner agencies brought this case to *** successful resolution. Investigation stems from an, from an armed bank robbery that occurred on June 6, 2025. At the PNC Bank located on Southwest Gatlin Boulevard during that incident, *** suspect displayed what appeared to be *** firearm, stole approximately $2000 from *** bank teller, and fled the scene in *** black Mercedes. Through extensive investigative efforts, multiple Crime Stoppers tips, and the assistance of our federal partners at the FBI, detectives were able to identify the suspect is 47-year-old Port Saint Lucie resident Mary Adolphus. As the investigation progressed, it became evident that Adolphus was attempting to flee the country. She was located and stopped at Miami International Airport, then transported back to Port Saint Lucie, where she was taken into custody. She is now facing charges of robbery with *** firearm and grand theft, and I’ll be happy to answer some questions at this time. How are you able to link her to the crime? What was your sort of probable cause in *** nutshell, if you can possibly put it in *** nutshell? Yeah, so it’s actually *** complicated case, and, and she was identified very early on as *** suspect in this investigation. Uh, one of the major challenges was that we were really inundated with tips and multiple suspects became developed rapidly. So when you’re dealing with *** circumstantial case, which this very much was up until recently. *** big part of the lift is ruling out and proving who it wasn’t, right? So we had numerous suspects, believe it or not, that looked very much like the image we had from the bank, multiple vehicles that we also had to track down. Uh, Building the case was challenging because she is local. And one of the things that we like to use in *** lot of these cases is license plate readers to show vehicle travel. Uh, in this case, the vehicle is local and never hit any of our license plate readers. So, um, proving the vehicle and demonstrating, you know, that that was the vehicle used was challenging as well. Uh, it came down to researching, doing *** lot of canvassing. Uh, we were able to trace her steps, uh, in the area of, uh, Gatlin Boulevard prior to the robbery to include entering two other banks and Sam’s Club across the street. So we were able to create *** timeline of her travel in the area and, and put her in that. So it made it, uh, very evident to us she was our suspect. Uh, then there was *** couple of traffic stops interactions with law enforcement that I’ll touch on after the time of the robbery, not day of, but in the months following, uh, one of the traffic stops, the body cam footage when the detectives went back and reviewed, uh, she was wearing some of the same clothing that were in the photograph at the bank. So it took time also for us to identify all the objects that we saw in the photos and the images we got from the bank and connect them to her as well, uh. It was difficult getting an interview with her, and she left the country more than once during the investigation when we attempted to interview her. She left to Jamaica. Then we were coordinating with the FBI trying to see what was going on in Jamaica, trying to get her back here. Uh, she was actually directed out of Jamaica and she tried to flee to the Dominican Republic. So getting *** face to face interview was challenging. So once we were able to do that, ultimately we were able to obtain *** confession. When was that when was that last the interview and the the final interview with confession occurred yesterday. In regards to the location plate readers, do you believe that you would have been able to apprehend her sooner had that been available at *** local level? I know there’s *** lot of concern when it comes to those readers, and I think that this is exceptional validation to be able to let locals know that they really are not as active as we have this impression. What would you like to say to the community about that? Look, if you’re not committing *** crime. They’re doing nothing to harm you. They’re only protecting you. And the only time we’re researching and looking is when we get an alert from them. Typically say there’s *** registration, there’s *** want connected to that person. That’s the time when we will go and look when we get *** hit. We’re not sitting and surveilling these readers at all. We look at them historically when we’re trying to identify *** suspect of *** crime. What an exceptional validation for, for your, your department. I would just like to say that. Thank you. Thank you. What about previous criminal background? Have you guys looked into that? What does she have any other kind of? No, no significant convictions, and she, as you mentioned, she served as *** corrections officer for nearly 5 years for the state, so she wouldn’t have had that employment either with *** criminal background. It appears the motivation was, was rent at the end of the day. She, she needed money to pay rent. What agency was she *** corrections officer with? I believe that was state DOC. She, she worked at MCI. Got you. And was she *** corrections officer at the time that this all happened? No, I think her tenure ended in 2023. Got you. Do you know the circumstances around that, the tenure ended? Is that what I can’t speak exactly. It was some sort of misconduct I was told. Do you know why Jamaica? I believe she has *** love interest there. I, I, I, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that was the first bank robbery in the city limits of PSL since 2023, and I don’t know if there’s been any bank robberies in PSL since that. Can you talk about how it seems like. The number of bank robberies historically seem to be trending down and down and down and down and I mean it’s *** crime with extremely high risk and low reward. Typically they get out with less than *** few $1000 and rapidly caught, usually within *** couple of months. This one took *** little bit longer because we had so many people presented to us as suspects and she was difficult to catch up with. But yeah, it’s just *** very. You know, foolish crime to commit, quite honestly, it’s, you know, again, high risk, low reward. You said that the weapon that she had appeared to be *** gun. Is it confirmed that it was *** gun? It was in fact *** BB gun, *** BB gun, and it was *** BB gun. We did, we did recover that gun yesterday. Uh, it was in that large white bag that she was carrying, and she presented the bag in *** way that the teller could see the *** of the gun. So did she, did, was anyone hurt during that incident or directly threatened against the teller, right? Well, you know, she didn’t have to point it at the teller to make the teller feel threatened. She passed her *** note that explained that she had *** weapon and she made the weapon visible. What was the first piece of, do you recall what the first piece of evidence that you got that suggested that she could possibly be responsible? I know you said there’s *** lot of potential suspects or tipped them, but what was the And then you learned that she could possibly be linked early on. What was for us it was, you know, we had really nice photographs inside the bank. We had *** grainy photograph of the car. She’s local. She looks like the person matching the photo in the bank, and her vehicle looked like it was very likely the same vehicle. Um, there was no tag on her vehicle, so when we located it *** couple of times and it was difficult, it was also covered on private property. So, you know, again, she was right there on the radar, but putting *** strong case that’s going to bring *** conviction takes time and that’s, but, but how were you able to, if, if you have the surveillance photo at the bank. You don’t know it’s Mary Aci Adolphus. How do you link that suspect photo from the bank with the name? Again, that just helped us get to who we believe the suspect was, and now we had to go through the process of proving it, and that takes time. You know, Obviously we processed the crime scene at the bank very thoroughly and carefully. You know, but the problem is we don’t have the suspect to compare, you know, for DNA imprints and those things, and it’s just *** difficult process. What is the percentage of female bank robbers, especially in the state of Florida? I’m not looking for the nation, but locally I don’t recollect that we’ve had *** female bank robber. This is the first one I recall in this jurisdiction. Yeah. Thank you, Chief. Our reporter Ethan Stein wants to know why did they make the woman’s photo darker using chat GPT. Why do they make her photo look darker? Using chat GPT. I’m not aware that that was done. Do you plan on releasing any of that body camera footage of the arrest yesterday or those prior when you pulled her over in the car over the last several months? Do you plan on releasing any of those anytime soon? If all of you request it, we’ll take *** look at it and see if that’s something that won’t threaten the case. We’ll do it. Awesome, we’ll do. You said that she stole 20 from the approximately teller about that money. Was, was the bank teller ever able to get the money back? Was the money recovered? No, no. As for the detectives on the case, who were they? Well, you’re looking at Detective Sergeant Giacon right here. He, he caught the case right out of the bank, but he was also obviously supported by our major case team in, in this agency as well as he’s *** task force officer with the FBI, so we utilize our federal partners as well. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Do you believe she was connected to any other robberies in the area? You said she made *** couple of stops beforehand, but she wasn’t doing anything. I, I think she was trying to determine which bank she was going to hit, and no, we have nothing to indicate that she did any others. Is there *** reason like why that particular one? I don’t know. I don’t know why, I think it just, she felt the safest there. Is there any remors from her that has been reported or any indication of, does she have family here currently or are there any connections tied? Yeah, I mean, she has ties to this community. She’s lived here for some time. She does have family in the area. As far as remorse, not, not terribly remorseful, I would say. And in terms of *** motive, you mentioned rent. Did she mention anything about that during the arrest yesterday that she was short on money? Was she unemployed at the time? I, I’m not aware of her employment status at that point. We can get that information for you, but yeah, she was struggling financially at the time and she needed to pay rent. I know that she was in the process of moving from one home to the other. There’s *** cost associated with that, so. Thank you. What do you want the community to take away from an investigation like this? You know, it did take us 11 months, and we relentlessly followed up and relentlessly pursued it. The case was reviewed on *** weekly basis by *** captain in the division. And the detectives and the whole chain in criminal investigations was held accountable to make sure that they never ever gave up and they continue to matriculate this case. And if you commit *** crime in this city, that’s exactly how we’re going to address it. We’re just relentless and we’re not going to let something like that go and we’re just going to pursue it until we solve it. Can I just ask one more what’s next now? Does she have *** first appearance coming up? Yes, she’ll make *** first appearance and the judge will determine whether or not she’s going to be granted *** bond. Uh, and as far as that, the investigation continues, we’re going to continue to work with physical evidence now that we have her in custody. We can get *** DNA sample and we can compare that to our crime scene. So we’re hoping the case only gets stronger moving forward. Thank you. Great job. Thank you so much. Thank you I appreciate it. OK.
‘She needed rent’: Port St. Lucie police detail 11-month investigation leading to arrest of PNC Bank robbery suspect
Updated: 10:33 AM EDT May 7, 2026
Port St. Lucie police Chief Leo Niemczyk held a press conference Thursday morning after the arrest of the suspect in a 2025 bank robbery. On June 6, the suspect, 47-year-old Mary Adolphus, allegedly entered a PNC Bank on Gatlin Boulevard in Port St. Lucie around 1:30 p.m.Adolphus, who Niemczyk said is a former corrections officer with the Florida Department of Corrections and a Port St. Lucie resident, allegedly put a large white bag on the counter and passed a note to the teller requesting the money and saying she had a gun.”It was, in fact, a BB gun,” Niemczyk said. “We recovered that gun yesterday. She presented the bag in a way where the teller could see the butt of the gun.” Neimczyk said Adolphus confessed to the robbery of about $2,000 Wednesday. WATCH: Former Florida corrections officer arrested in armed bank robberyHe said that the investigation took so long because the department was inundated with tips. “Multiple suspects developed rapidly,” the chief said. “A big part of the lift is ruling out and proving who it wasn’t. We had a lot of suspects who looked like her.”Police were able to trace the suspects’ steps in the area of Gatlin Boulevard prior to the robbery, including how she allegedly entered two other banks and a Sam’s Club across the street. Officials believe the suspect was deciding which bank to rob.”It made it very evident to us she was our suspect,” Neimczyk said.Previous coverage: The search for a suspect in alleged bank robbery In the months following the robbery, Niemczyk said they conducted multiple traffic stops with Adolphus. She was allegedly wearing some of the same clothing as in the image from the bank.The chief said Adolphus also left the country more than once during the investigation when they attempted to interview her. “She left to Jamaica,” he said.Police coordinated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”She was directed out of Jamaica, and she tried to flee to the Dominican Republic, so getting a face-to-face interview was challenging,” Niemczyk said.Officials eventually located and stopped Adolphus at Miami International Airport. The money has not been recovered, and the chief said bank robbery crimes come with an extremely high risk and low reward. “Typically, they get out with less than a few thousand dollars and (are) rapidly caught in a couple of months,” he said. “She was struggling financially at the time. She was in the process of moving from one home to the other.”Adolphus is facing two charges: robbery with a firearm and grand theft.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
Port St. Lucie police Chief Leo Niemczyk held a press conference Thursday morning after the arrest of the suspect in a 2025 bank robbery.
On June 6, the suspect, 47-year-old Mary Adolphus, allegedly entered a PNC Bank on Gatlin Boulevard in Port St. Lucie around 1:30 p.m.
Adolphus, who Niemczyk said is a former corrections officer with the Florida Department of Corrections and a Port St. Lucie resident, allegedly put a large white bag on the counter and passed a note to the teller requesting the money and saying she had a gun.
“It was, in fact, a BB gun,” Niemczyk said. “We recovered that gun yesterday. She presented the bag in a way where the teller could see the butt of the gun.”
Neimczyk said Adolphus confessed to the robbery of about $2,000 Wednesday.
WATCH: Former Florida corrections officer arrested in armed bank robbery
He said that the investigation took so long because the department was inundated with tips.
“Multiple suspects developed rapidly,” the chief said. “A big part of the lift is ruling out and proving who it wasn’t. We had a lot of suspects who looked like her.”
Police were able to trace the suspects’ steps in the area of Gatlin Boulevard prior to the robbery, including how she allegedly entered two other banks and a Sam’s Club across the street.
Officials believe the suspect was deciding which bank to rob.
“It made it very evident to us she was our suspect,” Neimczyk said.
Previous coverage: The search for a suspect in alleged bank robbery
In the months following the robbery, Niemczyk said they conducted multiple traffic stops with Adolphus. She was allegedly wearing some of the same clothing as in the image from the bank.
The chief said Adolphus also left the country more than once during the investigation when they attempted to interview her.
“She left to Jamaica,” he said.
Police coordinated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“She was directed out of Jamaica, and she tried to flee to the Dominican Republic, so getting a face-to-face interview was challenging,” Niemczyk said.
Officials eventually located and stopped Adolphus at Miami International Airport.
The money has not been recovered, and the chief said bank robbery crimes come with an extremely high risk and low reward.
“Typically, they get out with less than a few thousand dollars and (are) rapidly caught in a couple of months,” he said. “She was struggling financially at the time. She was in the process of moving from one home to the other.”
Adolphus is facing two charges: robbery with a firearm and grand theft.