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Fourth suspect in Martha’s Vineyard bank robbery arrested, new charges filed
Masked suspects armed with semi-automatic weapons held up a Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury last November.
Prosecutors announced Thursday that the three men involved in allegedly robbing a Martha’s Vineyard bank at gunpoint last year are facing additional charges. A fourth suspect has also been indicted, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins announced Thursday.
A superseding indictment was filed containing new charges against Miquel Antonio Jones, 31, of Edgartown, and Romane Andre Clayton, 21, of Jamaica. Jones was charged with conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, armed bank robbery, and aiding and abetting. Clayton was charged with one count of bank robbery and aiding and abetting.
Jones and Clayton were initially arrested and charged last December. Jones and Clayton were subsequently indicted along with alleged co-conspirator Omar Johnson, 32, of Canterbury, N.H. on March 16.
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Tevin Porter, 27 of Bridgeport, Conn., was allegedly the fourth person in on the robbery. He was arrested and faces the same charges as Jones.
“Today, the FBI arrested the fourth member of a crew that is accused of committing a violent armed bank robbery on Martha’s Vineyard, which terrorized innocent bank tellers and bystanders just trying to go about their daily lives. It’s incredibly fortunate no one was hurt,” Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division Joseph R. Bonavolonta said in a statement. “Bank robbery is not an easy payday, it is a federal crime, and FBI Boston’s Violent Crimes Task Force and our law enforcement partners will do everything in our power to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, like we did in this case.”
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On the morning of Nov. 17, Porter, Jones, and Johnson allegedly forced their way through the back door of the Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury. Clad in dark clothing and masks that resembled an elderly man with exaggerated facial features, they wielded semi-automatic handguns.
Inside the bank, one of the men held a gun to the head of a bank employee and forced them to open a vault. Approximately $39,100 was stolen. The bank employees were bound with duct tape and plastic zip ties while the armed men searched their belongings and demanded access to one of their vehicles, prosecutors said.
Jones, Porter, and Johnson, then allegedly fled the bank in an employee’s car and drove to the Manuel Correllus State Forest. There, they abandoned the car in a parking lot and fled in another vehicle. Prosecutors say the second vehicle was left there in advance so that the men could escape.
Porter and Clayton allegedly left the island together on a ferry later that morning.
At the same time, Johnson and Jones allegedly drove to a local farm with the equipment that had been used during the robbery. The two guns used in the robbery were found buried in a hole in the ground at the farm. The remainder of the equipment used in the robbery, including the masks, were found burned nearby, prosecutors said.
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Jones returned home, where he allegedly hid the stolen money in his bedroom under a bureau. Prosecutors say Johnson left Martha’s Vineyard and met up with Porter and Clayton in Woods Hole. The three then allegedly drove to Johnson’s home in New Hampshire.
“These defendants terrorized and spread panic across the communities of Martha’s Vineyard, and we have now charged a fourth person involved,” Rollins said in a statement. “We believe these men worked together in an armed bank robbery that involved at least two deadly semi-automatic firearms – one of which was held to an employee’s head – and went to great lengths in attempt to conceal their involvement. Massachusetts residents deserve to live and work without fear. We will hold violent individuals accountable, particularly when they use firearms during their crimes.”
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