A New Jersey woman accused of robbing a Mercer County bank of more than $60,000 with a spray-painted toy water gun is now facing a federal charge, officials said.
Ciara Brascom has been charged with one count of bank robbery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced Tuesday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
On July 28, 2024, a masked Brascom entered the TD Bank on Route 206 in Princeton, brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, according to a criminal complaint. She then allegedly handed over a note to one of the bank tellers, demanding cash and threatening to use her weapon should the bank alarm be triggered.
When Brascom learned there was no money in the teller’s drawer, she accompanied him to the bank vault and then allegedly made off with $60,500. She did not have a bag with her, authorities noted, so she walked out of the building with hands full of cash.
After an extensive investigation, authorities called in 39-year-old Brascom for questioning on Sept. 28. She described for them “certain financial difficulties, which fueled her desire to rob the bank,” according to the criminal complaint.
Brascom also recalled how she searched for a replica gun to use during the robbery, and when she couldn’t find one, she instead purchased a pack of water pistols and black spray paint, police said. She then went home, where she “painted one of the guns with black paint to make it look more realistic.”
“After the paint dried,” Brascom made her way to the bank, according to the documents. Following the robbery, she once again returned home and tossed the pistol as well as the hat she’d been wearing, which was captured in bank surveillance video.
Brascom was arrested and charged with robbery, criminal restraint, theft, terroristic threats, money laundering, aggravated assault and weapons offenses, NJ.com reported. The status of her local charges were not immediately clear.
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