Photo provided by United States Department of Justice.
BOSTON – A man has been sentenced for orchestrating a bank robbery on Martha’s Vineyard.
The Department of Justice says Miquel Antonio Jones of Edgartown was the ringleader of a robbery at the Rockland Trust Bank in Vineyard Haven on November 17th, 2022.
Jones pleaded guilty to armed bank robbery and conspiracy offenses, and was sentenced to ten years in federal prison.
Prosecutors say Jones and his crew wore masks with exaggerated facial features. An employee reportedly had a gun to their head and was forced to open the bank vault. The robbers then allegedly left the bank in an employee’s car, and abandoned the vehicle in the parking lot of Manuel Correllus State Forest.
The DOJ says Jones went back to his home and hid over $39,000 that was stolen from the bank.
“This was a bold and brazen armed robbery carried out on a picturesque island at the start of the day. The ringleader of this robbery crew, Miquel Antonio Jones, showed up armed with loaded firearms, zip ties, duct tape, and plastic masks and forced employees into the bank at gunpoint, making them fear for their lives,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.
Cohen continued, “It’s incredibly fortunate no one was hurt before the armed robbers opted to flee. Today’s sentence makes it clear that bank robbery is not an easy payday, it’s a federal crime, and the FBI and our partners will ensure perpetrators like Jones are held fully accountable.”
Three other defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in January.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About Jim McCabe
