A young Chester County mother originally reported missing by loved one’s before being arrested for a string of “Bonnie & Clyde”-like heists could spend decades behind bars on federal charges for her multi-county theft spree.
Elizabeth “Liz” Kenneally and Christian Leblanc pulled off a series of heists in the Philadelphia suburbs last fall including stealing engagement rings from two separate stores and robbing at least three banks to fund their drug habits, according to a federal indictment released Tuesday that charges the duo with three bank robberies.
Kenneally, a 26-year-old mother from Phoenixville with no previous run-ins with the law, would serve as the getaway driver while her boyfriend Leblanc, 40, would often pull off the heists during the couple’s crime spree from late October to November, said investigators.
The first bank heist happened on Oct. 28. Police finally brought down the duo on Nov. 4 just hours after Leblanc -- who had a history of drug abuse -- handed a teller at a West Goshen, Chester County, Citizens Bank branch handed over more than $2,700 after Leblanc handed her a note that said “this is no joke, 100’s, 50’s, 20’s you got 10 seconds or I shoot you in face,” according to federal prosecutors.
Police tracked the duo to a Super 8 Motel on S Dupont Highway in New Castle, Delaware where police nabbed the couple.
In police custody, Kenneally admitted to helping plan and carry out ring thefts at a Kohl’s in North Coventry, Montgomery County and a Kay Jewelers at the Plymouth Meeting Mall; as well as bank heists at supermarket branches in Audubon, Montgomery County; East Goshen, Chester County and the pre-mentioned West Goshen heist, said prosecutors.
LeBlanc also went into great detail about the thefts and Kenneally’s role in planning the robberies and serving as the getaway driver, said the indictment.
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About one week before the first heist, Kenneally’s mother, pleading for her missing daughter’s safe return, alluded to her daughter’s issues with drugs.
“My daughter needs help,” Bossley wrote on Oct. 20 on Facebook. “So many families have someone that suffers, whether from drugs, depression, alcoholism, but some may not experience it first hand and don’t understand.”
Kenneally and Leblanc used the money they got from the heists to feed their drug habits, said investigators.
Each suspect faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted in the federal bank charges. Kenneally remained jailed on other charges in Montgomery County while Leblanc remained behind bars in Philadelphia.
