Heather Brown, dubbed serial bank robber, faces West Springfield charge

She is awaiting prosecution on charges for a West Springfield bank robbery that authorities says was among a half-dozen she committed in six days.

Associated PressWest Springfield bank robbery suspect Heather Brown in Connecticut courtroom in September 2009

SPRINGFIELD – Portrayed in the media as a “serial bank robber,” Heather Brown is already facing a 16-year state prison term in Connecticut for a series of heists in 2009.

Now, she is in Western Massachusetts, awaiting prosecution on charges for a Sept. 24, 2009 bank robbery in West Springfield that authorities say was among a half-dozen carried over a six-day period.

Brown, who is being held at the Western Massachusetts Correctional Center for Women in Chicopee, was in Hampden Superior Court on Wednesday for a pre-trial conference in the case involving the West Side robbery. The case was continued to May 25.

The 35-year-old Brown gained notoriety when she was arrested for the string of bank thefts over the course of six days, four of them in Connecticut. She was also accused of robbing a bank in Rhode Island as well as the Webster Bank branch at 50 Elm St. in West Springfield.

At that sentencing Brown apologized to bank tellers, family and friends. Brown, of Willimantic, Conn., had a long criminal history that included a conviction for robbing a Groton, Conn., bank in 2006.

Brown, who admitted being drug addicted, used no disguise and in all Connecticut cases threatened bank tellers with the use of a bomb.

In the West Springfield robbery, police reported that the robber walked into the bank and handed the teller a note demanding cash.