LOS ANGELES — A young woman was sentenced Tuesday, June 11 to probation for helping her then-boyfriend stage a robbery at the Torrance bank where she worked as a teller.

Marlene Wickham, 22, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin to pay a share of $20,000 in restitution to Opus Bank.

The former Long Beach resident pleaded guilty last year to federal counts of conspiracy and bank theft.

“I would like to apologize for being in this courtroom,” Wickham told the judge. “And from here on out, I will do everything I can not to end up back here.”

Wickham’s ex-boyfriend, Chandler Leniu, 22, of Long Beach, walked into the Opus Bank branch at 23600 Hawthorne Boulevard on Oct. 2, 2017 and displayed a note demanding cash. Wickham handed over more than $52,000 to him, then he fled the area. The amount of money taken was unusually high compared to similar robberies, a detail that drew the suspicion of detectives, police said.

Investigators later determined that the two were dating and identified them as suspects. Leniu pleaded guilty last month in Los Angeles federal court to conspiracy to commit bank theft and agreed to pay a share of the restitution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 24

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, $32,470 has been recovered and returned to the bank.

Wickham’s attorney, Humberto Diaz, told the court that his client and her family have relocated out of Southern California in order to “get a fresh start.”

Southern California News Group reporter Eric Licas contributed to this report