An Edgartown man has pleaded guilty to charges related to an armed bank robbery on Martha’s Vineyard, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Miquel Antonio Jones, 33, admitted in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery and one count of armed bank robbery and aiding and abetting. U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled Jones’ sentencing for Dec. 2.
Jones was initially indicted in March 2023, and additional charges were brought in April, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Prosecutors say Jones, along with co-conspirators Omar Johnson, Tevin Porter, and allegedly Romane Clayton, met on Nov. 16, 2022, to plan the heist. Jones reportedly identified the Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury as their target and supplied the others with dark clothing and plastic masks resembling an elderly man.
The next morning, Porter, Johnson, and Jones forced their way into the bank, armed with semi-automatic handguns, authorities said. One of the men allegedly held a gun to a bank employee’s head, forcing them to open the vault, from which the robbers took approximately $39,100. The bank employees were then bound with duct tape and plastic zip ties, according to court documents.
After the robbery, the group fled in a bank employee’s vehicle, picked up Clayton, and drove to the Manuel Correllus State Forest where they abandoned the car, prosecutors said. They then allegedly escaped in another vehicle that had been left for their getaway.
Jones and Johnson later disposed of the robbery equipment at a local farm, authorities said, where they reportedly buried the firearms and burned the masks. The stolen cash was hidden in Jones’ bedroom, according to prosecutors.
Johnson and Porter have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Clayton is scheduled to plead guilty on Sept. 12, 2024.
Jones faces up to 25 years in prison for the armed bank robbery charge, while the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years. Both charges also include fines of up to $250,000. Sentencing will be determined by federal guidelines.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Boston Division with assistance from several local and federal agencies, including the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police, and numerous local police departments.
The names might not sound run of the mill U S of A, but no pictures. Why?
You know why.