Love After Lockup Christine robbed 5 banks in 3 states in 9 days
Love After Lockup Season 9 inmate Christine Martin is no stranger to the small screen. The 38-year-old was plastered across local news outlets in three states in 2016 after a string of six bank robberies!
“I started getting in trouble with the law because of drugs,” Christine explains during a Love After Lockup confessional. “I was dating someone who got me on the needle, and I was having to shoplift and commit other crimes to support our habits.”
Christine soon got frustrated with simple shoplifting. “So, I searched on my phone: ‘How to rob a bank,'” she reveals. “I saw that all you had to do was hand a note over to the bank teller, and they had to give it to you, even if you didn’t have a weapon. I thought that was a great loophole.”
Could it really be that easy? Christine decided to find out.
Christine Martin robs her first bank, then 5 more
“I took a envelope and I wrote, ‘Put all your 50s and 100s in this envelope.’ And Wa-LAH!” It worked! Christine waited for the inevitable knock on her door, but it didn’t come.
“About two months later, I’d come to realize that, you know, that they weren’t gonna catch me. They didn’t know who I was. I was, like, ‘Oh, OK. They didn’t come and get me.’ So, I walked into another bank, and I robbed that one too.”
After robbing a second bank, Christine threw caution to the wind. “At this point it was just a free for all. I robbed a bank in Athens [Ohio] one day, and then the following day I drove back and I robbed another bank.”
The second bank robbery in Athens was her sixth — and last.
“About the following day, ‘*BAM, BAM, BAM* Police! Open up!’ F***.”
Christine Joy Martin makes the news
Prior to her arrest, security camera photos of Christine were shared by local news outlets in three states.
In the images, Christine can be seen in casual clothes. The robberies went down just as she described. She simply walked up to the teller, handed the teller a note demanding money, took the money, and walked out.
When all was said and done, Christine stole a total of just under $8,000 from six banks in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Just as Christine stated, there was a delay between the first and second robberies. The last five robberies were all committed within a period of nine days.
Christine was arrested at a hotel in Parkersburg, West Virginia on December 30, 2016 — one day after her last robbery.
Christine Joy Martin bank robbery timeline
Starcasm has put together a timeline of all six of Christine Joy Martin’s bank robberies, including the amount of money she took from each bank. All of the robberies took place in 2016.
November 4 – $2,000 from Huntington Bank in Fairmont, WV
December 20 – $974 from United Bank in Morgantown, WV
December 23 (2:22PM) – $350 from WesBanco Bank in Washington, PA
December 23 (2:33PM) – $500 from First Commonwealth Bank in Washington, Pennsylvania
December 27 – $2,150 from Peoples Bank in Athens, OH
December 29 – $1,800 from Chase Bank in Athens, OH
Christine Joy Martin pleads guilty to 3 bank robberies
As Christine states on Love After Lockup, she entered a plea deal in which she pleaded guilty to three of the bank robbery charges. The other three charges were dropped, but Christine was still ordered to pay restitution to all six banks.
Christine was also ordered to pay restitution of $115.44 to a woman named Heather. It’s unclear who that is. Perhaps a teller who surrendered her own money during a robbery?
Christine was sentenced to 51 months each for all three convictions, but the sentences were concurrent. 51 months was the minimum sentence she faced.
Because the robberies were in multiple states, the case was federal and Christine served her time in Federal penitentiaries.
Christine was released on parole, and she was able to spend about a week with Julian before she was arrested on a parole violation. According to Julian, “she failed a few drugs screens. I think she had pot in her system.”
Julian also reveals that he was with Christine when she ran a blinking red light. When police ran her information, they discovered an outstanding warrant due to her not reporting to her parole officer. They arrested her on the spot.
When was Christine released?
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Christine Joy Martin was released on March 26, 2024. She was 30 years old when she was arrested, and 38 years old when she was released.
Will Christine be able to stay out of trouble? Will she and Julian find the happily ever after they have been patiently waiting for?
Be sure to tune in to new episodes of Love After Lockup airing Friday nights at 8/7c on WE tv to find out! Or perhaps Starcasm will spill the tea before the season wraps? 🤔
#LoveAfterLockup Julian was arrested in April! And he was with Christine at the time! 😳
We've got all the exclusive details for you! Just tap the link below! 🤗 #FelonFriday https://t.co/0OW2YLJuhp
— Starcasm (@starcasm) August 9, 2024
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
