A 27-year-old man from Boston was sentenced on Wednesday to 30 months in prison for his involvement in two robberies in October 2019. Samuel Jose Baptista, in February 2020, pleaded to guilty robbing the TD Bank in Worcester and the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere.
Along with his prison sentence, Baptista was also sentenced to two years of supervised release. He has also been ordered by US District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to forfeit the money found in his possession after the second robbery, also the restitution of the remaining amount stolen from the banks.
Robbing Two Banks Hollywood Style
In a dramatic fashion comparable to a Hollywood flick, Baptista entered a branch of TD Bank in Worcester on 20 October 2019, and informed the tellers, "This is a robbery." Then he demanded $10,000 in cash. Baptista also threatened the tellers that his backpack contained a bomb, and that if they failed to provide the amount in 5 minutes, he would detonate the bomb.
Baptista did not stop with just one robbery. On 26 October 2019, he targeted another bank, this time a branch of the East Boston Savings Bank in Revere. After entering the bank Baptista passed the teller a withdrawal slip. On it, the words "10/21/19" and "$10,000" were written. He then told the teller, "This is a robbery." Following which, he demanded $20,000 and warned the teller that there was a bomb in his backpack. After receiving the demanded amount, he fled the bank in a taxicab.
End of A Streak
Witnesses present in the bank at the time of the robbery reported to police the license plate number of the taxicab, and its color—lime green. Shortly after the robber, local law enforcement authorities found that taxicab was parked in the Northgate Shopping Center.
When approached by the police, the taxi driver informed them that Baptista had entered a store located in the shopping center. Baptista was arrested and the money from the East Boston Savings Banks robbery was found in his possession.
