Barbie Bandits Heather Johnston pleads guilty

Heather Johnston, one of the "Barbie Bandits" bank robbers, pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor in Georgia.

Barbie Bandits Heather Johnston pleads guilty Heather Johnston, 19 (picture right), notorious as one of the young women bank robbers named the "Barbie Bandits" submitted a guilty plea to felony theft and misdemeanor marijuana possession. "I regret what I did. I wish I could take it back every day," Heather Johnston told the Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley. There was no deal with the prosecution and according to the young thief, she pleaded guilty in order to take responsibility for her actions.

Heather Johnston and Ashley Miller became famous as the "Barbie Bandits" after surveillance cameras caught the two women robbing a Bank of America branch in Acworth, Ga. in February. According to the cops, the bank teller was also in on the plot. Later the two girls went on a shopping spree with the almost $11,000 they stole from the bank, and even gave money to the homeless, according to the investigators, who caught the Barbie Bandits two days after the robbery.

Charges are still pending against Ashley Miller, the bank teller and another person involved, and the judge said she will sentence Heather Johnston after the three other defendants' cases are concluded. The prosecution recommends three years for the theft charge and one year for the drugs. Meanwhile the parents of Heather Johnston, who has no prior criminal record, asked Judge Mary Staley not to send her to prison, even though Johnston later laughed about it during a TV interview.

Published on 08/22/2007