LOS ANGELES—A South Bay woman was sentenced on June 27 to two years behind bars for throwing a Molotov cocktail inside a Torrance bank after a dispute with the branch manager.
Gardena resident Teranee Millet, 35, pleaded guilty in March to one federal count of unlawful possession of a firearm and destructive device.
According to her plea agreement, Millet entered a Bank of America branch in Torrance on Sept. 20, 2021. After speaking to the bank manager and demanding to be helped by another teller because she believed she had been waiting in line for too long, she became angry.
When the bank manager informed her that no other tellers were available and she would have to continue waiting, Millet used profane language and yelled, “I’m going to blow this bitch up!” according to her plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.
In response, the bank manager called 911 and informed law enforcement of Millet’s comments.
A few minutes later, Millet returned to the bank branch and threw a Molotov cocktail into the bank, lighting a fire in the middle of the branch, she admitted.
A bank customer attempted to put it out, and law enforcement officers responded within a few minutes, secured the scene, and recovered the item that Millet threw on the floor of the bank to start the fire. On her way out of the bank’s parking lot and before law enforcement arrived, she threatened another customer and threw a glass bottle at the customer’s truck, prosecutors say.
Law enforcement said they used bank surveillance photos to help identify Millet.
According to federal prosecutors, Millet was arrested in Fulton County, Georgia, on Dec. 2, 2021, after she led law enforcement on a chase in a stolen U-Haul van that ended with the van crashing.
Law enforcement recovered from the van, among other items, a gym bag containing four packs of glass bottles with tissue paper inserted inside the bottles, a can of lighter fluid and a five-gallon can of gasoline, according to court documents, federal prosecutors said. Millet sustained injuries in the crash and later received medical treatment, according to prosecutors.
