Two men were charged in federal court Friday afternoon in connection to the armed robbery of a Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury last month, where one of the assailants allegedly forced an employee to open a vault at gunpoint.
Miquel Antonio Jones, 39, of Edgartown, and Omar Odion Johnson, 32, of New Hampshire, were charged with one count each of armed bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office announced. Both men are in state custody and have pleaded not guilty to other allegations in a local court in Edgartown.
New federal court documents say three masked robbers forced their way into the rear door of the Rockland Trust bank on Nov. 17 as three employees were entering the building to open the bank for the day.
The assailants were armed with semi-automatic handguns and dressed in dark-colored clothing and masks that resembled an elderly man with “exaggerated facial features,” prosecutors said.
Once inside, investigators said one of the robbers held a gun to the head of the bank manager and “forced him to open and access the working vault that was located on the ground level of the bank.”
“As the manager was opening the vault, the robbers kept a gun pointed in his face,” court documents said.
The bank robbers stole about $39,100. Rollins’ office said, and bound the employees with duct tape and plastic restraints before leaving the building. The assailants also searched the employees’ personal belongings and demanded access to their vehicles, authorities said.
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