St. Lucie County - Tuesday February 20, 2024: U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks has sentenced Jennifer Scee to 3-years in federal prison after she admitted to an attempted armed robbery of a Port St. Lucie pharmacy last year.
The sentenced was handed down in Miami Federal Court last Thursday, February 15. Judge Middlebrooks also tacked on three years of supervised release following her prison term.
Last November, the 48 year old St. Lucie County resident pled guilty to a charge of attempted robbery under the Hobbs Act. Scree admitted that on April 21 last year she entered a pharmacy in Port St. Lucie, and told the pharmacy associate who was standing behind the counter that she wanted Dilaudid, a brand name for the opioid hydromorphone.
When the associate asked Scee for her prescription, Scee displayed a weapon while continuing to demand Dilaudid. When the associate told Scee that she did not have any Dilaudid, Scee jumped over the counter and pointed the weapon at the associate’s chest. After the associate started yelling and banging on the counter, Scee fled.
Port St. Lucie Police Department officers obtained video surveillance from the plaza where the pharmacy is located, which shows Scee wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, black leggings, a black hat covering, and a surgical mask covering her face entering and fleeing the pharmacy on foot.
Later, law enforcement officers also obtained surveillance footage showing a 2004 Honda Civic Coupe with a sunroof and dark tinted windows pulling into the parking lot at the nearby plaza shortly before the robbery, and then leaving the parking lot shortly after the robbery.
Law enforcement officers confirmed that the car was registered to Scee in Port St. Lucie. Scree was later arrested at her residence in Port St. Lucie.
FBI Miami and PSLPD investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted it.
This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone.
In 2017, PSN was reinvigorated as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.