Former corrections officer arrested in Florida bank robbery, police say

A former corrections officer is back behind bars on the wrong side of the law after authorities said she robbed a bank in Florida last year.

Mary Jane Adolphus, 47, was arrested in the robbery that happened June 6, 2025, at a PNC Bank in Port St. Lucie, Police Chief Chief Leo Niemczyk said Thursday.

Niemczyk said Adolphus displayed what appeared to be a firearm and fled with around $2,000.

After the robbery, detectives were inundated with tips about multiple suspects but narrowed it down to Adolphus with the help of the FBI, Niemczyk said.

“It appears the motivation was rent, at the end of the day, she needed money to pay rent,” Niemczyk told reporters at a news conference.

Investigators learned Adolphus may have been trying to flee the country and she was taken into custody at Miami International Airport, the chief said.

She was brought back to Port St. Lucie to face charges of robbery with a firearm and grand theft.

Niemczyk said investigators recovered a BB gun that was used in the robbery and obtained a confession from Adolphus.

He added that Adolphus was a state corrections officer for about five years but her tenure ended in 2023.

“It’s a crime with extremely high risk and low reward, typically they get out with less than a few thousand dollars, and rapidly caught usually within a couple of months,” Niemczyk said. “This one took a little bit longer because we had so many people presented to us as suspects and she was difficult to catch up with but it’s just a very foolish crime to commit.”