Crime

Alleged Martha’s Vineyard bank robbers officially charged with armed robbery

The federal charge carries up to 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

December 2, 2022

2 minutes to read

Two men arrested in connection to a Martha’s Vineyard bank robbery last month have been federally charged with armed bank robbery.

Miquel Antonio Jones, 39, of Edgartown, and Omar Odion Johnson, 32, of Canterbury, New Hampshire, were charged with one count each of armed bank robbery, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors say both men are in state custody on related charges and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

Prosecutors say the federal charge of armed bank robbery carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

Investigators say Jones and Johnson were two of three men to carry out the Nov. 17 robbery at Rockland Trust bank in Tisbury. The three suspects wore matching white masks that resembled “an elderly man with exaggerated facial features” and wielded semi-automatic handguns, according to prosecutors. During the robbery, one of the suspects held a gun to the head of a bank employee and demanded he open the vault.

The trio made off with $39,100 after binding the employees with duct tape and zip ties and stealing an employee’s car. Shortly after, police found the stolen car about two miles from the bank; it appeared the robbers had fled in another vehicle.

According to the charging documents, during a search of a Tisbury farm used by a local landscaping company where Jones works, investigators found a glove, paper money band, zip tie and multiple rubber bands that matched items believed to be used in the bank robbery. Investigators also spotted an area that appeared to have had a recent fire where they found burned pieces of nylon, white metal plastic consistent with a white mask, burned walkie-talkie pieces, an antenna, batteries and pieces of metal consistent with a duffle bag zipper. A few feet away, investigators recovered two semi-automatic handguns loaded with 9mm ammunition buried in the ground.

Jones was arrested on Nov. 19 on state charges of accessory after the fact and was later charged with armed and masked bank robbery in Edgartown District Court. Jones, who is accused of driving the getaway vehicle, is a former Jamaican pro soccer player who had been working as a landscaper.

A criminal complaint and warrant were issued by the Edgartown District Court on Nov. 25 charging Johnson with the masked armed robbery. Police arrested him in New Haven, Connecticut, and he’s currently in state custody awaiting arraignment in the Edgartown District Court.