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Press Release

Boston Man Indicted for Bank Robbery

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Boston man was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Worcester for the October 2019 robberies of the TD Bank in Worcester and the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere.    

Samuel Jose Baptista, 27, was indicted on two counts of bank robbery. In November 2019, Baptista was charged by criminal complaint. 

According to charging documents, on Oct. 20, 2019, Baptista entered a branch of TD Bank in Worcester and demanded $10,000 from the bank teller. On Oct. 26, Baptista entered a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere and demanded $20,000. In both instances, Baptista threatened to detonate a bomb he allegedly was carrying if the bank did not turn over money to him.   

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 20 years, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent; and Revere Police Chief James Guido made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucy Sun of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated December 20, 2019

Topic
Violent Crime