A former Rockford police officer adds to her existing prison sentence after pleading guilty to armed robbery in Rock County Court.
39-year-old Yuliya Kuznets was charged with robbing a Janesville Walgreens in June of 2018, tying up a pharmacist and pepper spraying him before taking off with thousands of dollars worth of pills.
Her attorney said she and her accomplice James Akerman were addicted to painkillers and robbed pharmacies in Janesville and Hoffman Estates, Illinois after doctors in Rockford stopped prescribing her the medication.
Rock County Judge John Wood dismissed felony charges of false imprisonment and use of pepper spray during a crime, and he followed a plea agreement to sentence Kuznets to seven and a half years in prison followed by eight years of extended supervision.
That sentence will run concurrent to the sentence she is currently serving in Illinois for those robberies, and she will likely serve her parole in Illinois after her release.
During her sentencing hearing Wednesday, she repeatedly apologized to the court and said she isn’t sure if she will be able to forgive herself for her actions.
