Reading from a prepared statement on Jan. 30, former Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Christina Gates Thagard pleaded with U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Barber for leniency and promised she would never commit another crime.
Thagard, 41, was arrested by Ocala Police Department officers on May 3, 2025, and accused of robbing the TD Bank branch at Southeast 17th Street and 25th Avenue.
Wearing a yellow jail uniform and shackled, Thagard on Jan. 30 told the judge when she’s released from prison, she wants to be a massage therapist and is looking forward to living a productive life…