Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Two Bank Robberies

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to robbing a branch of the RTN Federal Credit Union in Brookline and a branch of the Mansfield Bank in West Bridgewater in November 2016.  

Stephen D. Williams, 55, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark. L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for March 13, 2018.

On Nov. 15, 2016, two individuals, one later identified as Stephen Williams, and the other later identified as Joseph Morris, entered a branch of the RTN Federal Credit Union in Brookline. Williams approached a teller and demanded cash.  The teller handed Williams cash from her drawer and the two exited the bank and fled the area in a dark colored Volkswagen.

 On Nov. 22, 2016, an individual, later identified as Williams, entered a branch of the Mansfield Bank in West Bridgewater. Brandishing a black semi-automatic firearm, Williams approached a teller and demanded money. The teller handed Williams cash, and Williams fled the area again in a dark-colored Volkswagen.  Bank surveillance cameras recorded images of Williams during the robbery.

On Nov. 23, 2016, law enforcement officers familiar with both Williams and Morris and the dark-colored Volkswagen located and arrested the two men at an apartment complex in Brockton. Morris was charged in state court, and Williams was charged in federal court.

Williams faces a sentence of no greater than 25 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; U.S. Marshal John Gibbons of the District of Massachusetts; Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey; West Bridgewater Police Chief Victor R. Flaherty Jr.; Brookline Police Chief Daniel C. O’Leary; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement today.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Weinreb’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.