Jeremiah Jackson Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning a U.S. District Judge sentenced Jeremiah Jackson, 34, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to two terms of life imprisonment, to be served concurrently, for killing two women while attempting to avoid apprehension in the aftermath of a bank robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI.

Jackson was arrested on April 6, 2010, shortly after robbing a bank and immediately after a collision that took the lives of Kimberly Aragon-Nunez, a 34-year-old mother of three, and Janice Flores, a 28-year-old mother of two. On May 11, 2010, Jackson was indicted and charged with robbing the New Mexico Bank and Trust branch located at 3002 Louisiana NE in Albuquerque (Bank) on April 6, 2010, and killing Mrs. Aragon-Nunez and Mrs. Flores while attempting to avoid apprehension in the aftermath of the bank robbery.

On August 24, 2011, a federal jury found Jackson guilty of bank robbery and killing the two women while attempting to avoid apprehension in the aftermath of the bank robbery, after a four-day trial. The evidence at trial established that Jackson robbed the Bank, which is located at the corner of Louisiana and Candelaria NE, at approximately 10:00 a.m. on April 6, 2010, by presenting two bank tellers with a note demanding money. After obtaining approximately $2,400 in cash from the two frightened bank tellers, Jackson fled from the Bank in a van he had borrowed earlier in the day. As he fled, the Bank manager was able to note the van’s license plate number and get a description of the vehicle.

An officer of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) soon located Jackson at a convenience store at the corner of Carlisle and Comanche NE using a description of the bank robber and the make and license plate number of the van. However, before the officer could establish a perimeter to box Jackson in, Jackson got back into the van and left the convenience store parking lot. Jackson quickly realized that an officer was following him. When the officer turned on her cruiser’s lights and siren, Jackson did not pull over and surrender but instead tried to evade arrest. Jackson drove south on Carlisle and then west on Interstate 40 at a high rate of speed while the officer followed and called out Jackson’s location over her police radio.

The officer continued to follow Jackson as he exited Interstate 40 and drove down Coors Blvd. SW, but lost sight of him as he sped along toward the intersection of Coors Blvd. and Quail SW. Several witnesses testified about watching Jackson attempt to turn the corner at a high rate of speed, seeing the van drift sideways and then slam into a concrete median. As it struck the median, the van went airborne across an entire lane of traffic before landing on the vehicle occupied by Ms. Aragon-Nunez and Ms. Flores, instantaneously causing their deaths. Instead of attempting to aid his victims or seeking assistance for them, Jackson fled from the scene of the fatal collision. Jackson was apprehended shortly thereafter and made a detailed confession that was presented as part of the evidence against him.

At the sentencing hearing, several members of the Aragon-Nunez and Flores families, including parents, children, and siblings of the deceased, addressed the court and spoke about the impact that Jackson’s crimes had on their lives. Several family members told the judge that they already had been sentenced to a life without their loved ones, and asked the judge to consider that fact in imposing sentence on Jackson.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the APD and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Presiliano Torrez and Raul Torrez.