Iconic Facce pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery. (Gulfport Police Department)
A trans woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, admitting she robbed banks to pay for gender-affirming healthcare.
Iconic Facce of Ashford, Alabama, was set to face trial in June this year, but requested via her attorney to enter a guilty plea before the trial, according to local news station WXXV.
The robbery took place on 22 March, 2019, at a BancorpSouth in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Witnesses said she entered the bank lobby, and after a few minutes approached a teller, passing them a note which read: “You have one min to give the money, do not be wrong [or] die.” She did not appear to have a weapon.
After she received money from the first teller, she instructed them to pass the note to a second teller, who she told to do the same.
Facce, who fled on foot, was described as having a swollen face, appearing to have recently had cosmetic surgery.
During the investigation, police said, Facce’s cellphone geolocation data placed her near the bank at the time of the robbery. Her phone was last located at Huntsville International Airport.
Just over a week later, on 30 March, 2019, Facce was arrested as she reentered the country at Houston International Airport on a return flight from Mexico. At the time of her arrest, the trans woman had her face covered in bandages, having travelled abroad for gender-affirming healthcare.
The method of her crime was almost identical to a previous conviction she had for a bank robbery in 2009, for which she served 51 months in prison.
This time, circuit judge Randi Peresich Mueller handed Facce the maximum sentence of 15 years for each count of robbery, to run concurrently.
Assistant district attorney Ian Baker, who prosecuted the case, said: “We commend the Gulfport Police Department and their steadfast work in identifying, locating, and apprehending this defendant.
“Their work is evidenced by this defendant requesting to plead guilty prior to the trial date.
“The sentence handed down by the court holds the defendant accountable for her actions and assists in providing closure to the victims of this crime.”