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Press Release

Boston Woman Sentenced for Bank Robbery

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

BOSTON – A Boston woman was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for robbing two banks in the greater Boston area.

Tamea Chambers, 37, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,958 in restitution. In May 2018, Chambers pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery. Chambers was arrested on Oct. 24, 2017, and has been in custody since.

On Oct. 17, 2017, a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in Roxbury was robbed.  The tellers stated that a black female entered the bank, demanded money and stated that she had a gun. The tellers gave the robber cash from their drawers and the robber exited the bank. Information, including pictures of the robber, was disseminated on various public websites and provided to local media. Two days later, on Oct. 19, 2017, a branch of Bank of America in Brookline was robbed. The tellers described the robber as a black female wearing a dark wig and reported that the robber entered the bank, stated that she had a gun and demanded cash. Based on the similar descriptions by the tellers at both banks, law enforcement suspected that the same individual was involved in both robberies.

Video footage from a business adjoining one of the banks captured images of the female robber, later determined to be Chambers, in the company of a man. The man was later determined to be Paul Landrum, previously dubbed by law enforcement as the “Route 128 Bandit,” and responsible for eight other bank robberies in the Greater Boston area. On Oct. 24, 2017, Chambers and Landrum were arrested and admitted their involvement in the various bank robberies. In May 2018, Landrum pleaded guilty to bank robbery and was sentenced in August to 57 months in prison.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. The Massachusetts State Police, and the Boston, Brookline, Medford, Somerville, and Wellesley Police Departments assisted with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

Updated September 18, 2018

Topic
Violent Crime