Homeless Woman Accused Of Robbing 2 New Port Richey Banks

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — A 31-year-old woman has been arrested after Pasco County Sheriff's deputies said she robbed one bank and attempted to rob another last week.

Deputies said Heather Warstler, who is homeless, entered the Chase Bank at 8298 Ridge Road just before 5 p.m. Sept. 13 and passed a note to the teller that read: "Guy in car has Gunn to my kids!! Hand me all the money in the draw!"

Warstler was given an undisclosed amount of cash and left the bank in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The next day around noon, deputies said she walked into the Bank of America at 8338 Embassy Blvd., and passed a similar note to the teller, demanding $2,000.

This time, the teller told Warstler that he had activated an alarm, and she quickly left the bank without any money.

Warstler was apprehended when a driver spotted the Jeep Grand Cherokee at the intersection of Ridge and Little roads and recognized it from a bank surveillance photo that the sheriff's office posted on its Facebook page. The driver called 911 and deputies pulled over the Jeep on U.S. 19. Warstler was the only occupant of the vehicle.

She was positively identified by bank employees and charged with two counts of robbery, fleeing to elude and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

She is being held on a $10,000 bond.